I am looking to invest in growth stocks (eg. lulu) or ETF (eg. ARKK), starting small, around 3k. What are some of the key considerations you would take note of if you were in my position?

As Chris has mentioned, those are the things you should do first and foremost before starting to invest. Also, gain conviction in the stocks you're looking at by doing more research in the company and also asking yourself "what would I do if the company share prices drop by 20%, but no fundamental news has changed." This preps you to hold on to your stocks as long as you still believe in the company's fundamentals.

3K is a good amount to start. Don't over-diversify too much and you'll do just fine.

Besides emergency funds, some other things that you should ensure is:

1. Covered adequately by insurance: Insurance is often overlooked in the whole planning for retirement process.

2. Paid off high i/r debt: High i/r payments will eat away at your returns. Paying down a 5% i/r debt is the same as making 5% on your money instead!

3. Do your due diligence: Be it stocks or ETFs, everything comes with their own risks. Ensure that you know everything about the company or ETF you're investing in. For stocks, I try to pitch to people why they should buy the stock. It helps you find out what you don't know about the company, so that you can do more research. For ETFs, try to research their core holdings to understand what exactly you're investing into. ETFs are still made up of real companies, so the better you understand those, the better you know your ETF.

Hope this helps, cheers!