But you can self upvote and so higher you get up so more your self upvote counts. That too is exponential. Question is: which function rises faster? (I honestly don't know)
Another interesting aspect: And a new account has about 15 Steem Power donated by someone which equivalents to about 7000 VEST. With every Steem Power you gain the donations is automatically reduced. So you stay at 15 SP / 7000 VEST for a long time.
You have to actually rise the whole six digits from 0 to 1 million to become a minnow.
But yes, becoming a minnow is still doable. You need a little more about 540 steem power. Which is little more then a thousand dollar.
PS: I currently have a little more then 50 steem (power) and a little less then 50 Minds Token. It will be interesting to see how that will change over time.