Compare total capital required, not the headline price. An acquisition front-loads the purchase price but may open with revenue; a startup spreads spending across fit-out, licensing and marketing while funding months of losses. Add due diligence, professional fees and working capital to both, then look at downside exposure if the business underperforms.
Test how each route would be financed
If part of the price is borrowed, the structure matters: debt secured against the business assets is treated differently from borrowing for which the investor is personally liable, and the distinction affects whether the funds count as at risk. Ask counsel to review the actual loan documents rather than assuming financing is either fine or forbidden. Keep professional fees and government charges outside the investment figure, and confirm current official amounts when each step arrives.
Hypothetical example: an entrepreneur compares a commercial print-finishing business at a fixed price against opening an equivalent operation, and finds the purchase cheaper on the headline figure. A first review would add the items that only appear in one column: due diligence, a lease assignment, licence transfers and any liabilities assumed on the acquisition side, and fit-out, licensing, initial marketing and several months of losses on the startup side. It would then compare the total capital each route requires before the enterprise is genuinely operating, which is usually a different ranking.