It's never easy! Starting here was tough, and I see why so many people give up. I didn't have support of any organization and had to make it happen myself. I would say that only now am I getting to the point that I can grow relatively easily here, but lack of HP was a problem. Money is an entry barrier wherever you go!
I'm not sure what platform you checked out, but the investment must have been significant if you didn't give it a go. Some places you have to pay to play, even here, but the barriers are much less of a problem here I've found. Time and dedication are the key here on Hive!
It's never easy. I literally need some money to actually enter some aspects of web3 and all I need is just a small amount of money and some time and dogged dedication, but I need to keep grinding before I get the money I need to make my entry easier and perhaps potentially profitable. It doesn't mean I'll give up, it just means I'll keep doing what I'm doing, until it can pay off someday. That was my attitude towards Hive too, and it's going to be my attitude anywhere.