i had brunch w/ a friend's mom and she's a financial writer and that's really all she could offer up but she suggested it

but you could easily start a fund somewhere else that doesn't have the $3k min Vanguard has then roll it over to Vanguard when you do

basically all she said was 'do the math'. depending on how you transact, you need to figure out your fees and that may steer you to the right place