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It depends on what you'll be trading, how much and whether you're going to be offering your services generally to the public. It also matters where you're based, and where your clients are based.
Off the top of my head, you'll need 7 and 65. Add 3 if trading futures. Add 34 if trading spot FX.
No MBA needed. Of course, if you were running purely friends and family money and not charging them for the services, you just need a power of attorney to execute trades on their behalf.
How "hard" the exams are is quite relative. I'm not sure in what context you would consider difficult. I'd probably assume my friends consider the Series 7 easier than the full CFA I, II, and III, and probably also easier than CPA exams. However, we like to give some senior guys a hard time when they think they can skip out on studying and they flunk out of some of the new certification exams.
There are some arcane or nuanced regulatory questions that trip most people up without studying (even assuming you understand the mechanics of how to trade).
I'm going to assume either one of two scenarios holds true for you. Either A) you're running a small personal account right now, in which case maybe you can try to get a job at the numerous banks in NY or brokerage and have them fund the various exams and also house your licenses for you. Or B) You're super successful and ready to raise a $10M account, in which case you'd probably need an off shore structure anyways which would get you largely out of these various series exams.
If you're stuck in the middle, there are a whole lot of other issues probably with the business model you are looking at. I'm sure a fund administrator can answer most of your questions, or simply just stick under the radar with a friends and family structure from regulatory purposes.
Of course consult your own legal counsel and research what each series is required for.
