[ryandrake]

If you have $100 to invest, you're down 5-10% right off the bat just from fixed price trading fees. Having little to invest is a huge roadblock.

[pc86]

I've never seen someone with any background in or knowledge of retail investment suggest that anyone start with less than $5,000. That seems to be about the minimum, especially if you're picking stocks where you're almost guaranteed to under-perform the market in the long term.