Well I was just wondering what the average startup cost would be to start a web hosting company. Also, what would you guess the average startup cost would be to start a game server hosting company?
That'd depends on if you got reseller hosting or got your own dedicated box. Reseller hosting could be attained for free from some hosts, as for a dedi box, you'll need to buy your rackserver (varies by specs), and then pay to get it set up in a data exchange center.
I was meaning with having my own hardware. No strings attaching me to some higher being of technology management.
Well that costs a lot, but best way then would be to get a rack of your own. Then however you are still dependent on the network and power of the hoster you rent the rack at. That can be changed by spending even more emergency power and your own backbone connections. However getting a rack and then all your hardware would be something like; $900/month + $10000 one-off for a cisco switch, firewall and one server.
start with small one like vps then once you get clients you will need to step up depending on your requirement.