Investors come on very different levels, there is family and friends, angel investors, angel syndicates, crowdfunding sites, accelerators, government grants, venture capital, private equity, strategic investors and finally public markets.

Based on your experience, product traction and network access you should determine which is the most effecient way to fund it. You may also opt to not raise capital via equity but grow your idea strictly from the revenue it produces or alternate methods of financing such as loans, but that is a personal decision that needs to be made based on your own opportunity

It is actually a great start to show that you are your own investor in an idea by developing first a prototype which you pay for. This is not the norm but most probably after a prototype is built and has gained traction (revenue, visits, subscribers) whatever you consider relevant you seek a 2nd source. The source could be family and friends you could offer them a convertible note if you are unsure on how to yet price the company or give them equity for 2%, 5% or 10%. After this you may follow the angel route or seek an accelerator (500startups, Ycombinator) via a site like angel.co and try to raise $200K to $500K. Again the number is totally dependant on what you achieve and the opportunity. Some game apps finance themselves by launching kickstarter campaings on the future promise that when delivered users will have 1st access to your app, that way you dont give equity, you in essence pre-sell your product.

I described going to later stages on this post https://clarity.fm/questions/1702/answers/5632/share

Happy to hop on call and go through more details :)