Agreeing to the first two replies, I don't really think cloud would work out unless you do go into trading but that in itself seems like a headache to me personally.

So yeah cloud ---> "mining" <--- part doesn't make much sense, yes I am sure there are people that do understand.

Yup hardware mining nowadays require such a large investment since starting small and adding bit by bit will just always end up pretty much the same return since difficulty will adjust every time.

Pretty much see if you can invest enough to show "net" profit -- after electricity and such for it to be able to sustain on its own to be a business.

Right now mining for me just seems like more of a hobby where I don't expect much of a return if any especially at the current price of bitcoin.

(Had to go offline during the summer ... now just seeing how the rates are for winter to see if I will continue).