[fragmede]

> Now we need to factor in medical, dental, 401K, office space, admin, laptops/desktops/devices/licenses, server space, business card, legal, expected travel expenses and such...

It reads like a joke because of the above list. Those are luxuries. You presumably already have a personal laptop, and a linode instance is quite affordable. Start there.

If you haven't already read pg's bit about ramen profitability, you should: http://www.paulgraham.com/ramenprofitable.html

[donohoe]

Ok, so I wasn't clear. I'm not talking about bare-bones. I am talking about 'luxuries' as a means to get developers. I'm also talking about market rate salary and benefits since to get experienced devs, the types that might have families, mortgages to pay.

I'm not talking about 3 guys sleeping rough in a studio, coding to all hours.

I realize many/most startups don't start with the needs I am describing.

Also, I'm also just looking for a completely rough-guess answer.

If you think it's $1 million then fine, if you think it's $500 million or 2 shekels, great too. Just add a little insight into your quote and it would be appreciated.