a recent graduate friend of a friend met Ken Griffin in a bar in NYC earlier this year...they chatted about trading...not sure if anything came of it though.
I was in a really similar situation like yourself. New graduate, built a bunch of quantitative investment models. Truth is, you can't start a hedge fund without any decent track record. That's why I teamed up with a bunch of well connected friends who handled the money raising and administration side of things. http://investingtrack.com/about/
This is good for a book, but my experience in reality was different. I was trading and rich people asked me to trade for them. I never asked anybody. Most rich people that I meet after trading for them, confirmed that they would never give me any money if I would have asked them first. They prospect and decide to whom they will give money. They become suspicious if people ask them money. Because they get this question all the time apparently. Lending them a towel or drinking with them in a bar would surely not have helped me. But one satisfied client lead to more clients. They use their network, and after that you can become part of it.
Start with your own money (size does not matter). Build a track record, and by time people will get to know you. Family, friends will eventually join if you are doing well (+20% a year is more than enough). During the first few years, give free tips to friend and family about the markets if they are interested. These are the best years in your trading career, enjoy it, the moment you start with the hedge fund and managing other people's money all the fun is gone. Administrative and legal stuff, expectations and answering questions from your clients, tax, sending monthly reports. If you just love trading, focus on your own money. Anyone who wants to join...keep it simple and informal. Thats what worked for me. Find out what works for you.
IMO, size does matter. Building a track record with $25K will not bring in investors. Depending on your target market, you need some reasonable size account for it be be interesting. That value will be different for every strategy and investor profile. I agree with your other comments. Have fun, make money. However if you hope to interest investors in the future, you need a structure to your trading and start to treat it as a business. Bob
Best advice your going to get, not just in trading/business. People heavily underestimate the role randomness/luck plays in our life. Surround yourself with winners, big fish, fat cats not bums and your opportunities increase, who knows someone may take a chance on you even if they don't you will gain valuable insight/information new contacts etc Good luck.
How does the money find you? This doesn't make sense. Everyone who is seeking capital has a great track record -- so i dont get your point.