Starting out with low cash, how'd you do it?

[Kyara S.]

I'm working on my start up plan and beginning to worry that I don't have enough cash. The current area I'm in is rather expensive. I'm looking at doing a house hack for the first property, using my VA loan to buy a 2-4 unit multi family while living in one unit for a year. After that I want to purchase a second property with a cash out refi of the first. With my partner, we have about 16k in cash total which doesn't leave me in a comfortable spot. My biggest concern is not having enough of a safety net for that second purchase.

Any feedback on how you started out with low funds is appreciated.