no..you do NOT need to invest anything but time.
I started from zero...lookit my wallet

• STEEM POWER
  Influence tokens which give you more control over post payouts and allow you to earn on curation rewards.
  11,516.793 STEEM

• STEEM DOLLARS
  Tokens worth about $1.00 of STEEM, currently collecting 0% APR.
  $45.835

Steem is valued at $ 0.918692208

or go to steemwhales.com

check the stats...see what I did.
you can too.

you can check anyone's account that you want...nothing is hidden on the BlockChain.