How does the initial mass of a star affect its final outcome?

Smaller stars live longer because they require less fuel to stay stable and will eventually collapse to white then black dwarves. Stars require mass to function, so they must be relatively big to produce fusion and to keep from imploding.

When massive stars die, they explode as supernovas, which are followed by neutron stars or black holes. Stars with greater mass require more fusion to stay stable and burn through fuel more quickly.

Stars that never gain enough mass to become stars are known as brown dwarfs.

A star's ultimate fate is determined by its initial mass: low-mass stars become red giants, lose their outer layers, and form planetary nebulae, which leave behind a white dwarf; intermediate-mass stars go through a similar process but have the possibility of becoming supernovae, which leave behind either a black hole or a neutron star; high-mass stars die as supernovae, which leave behind either a black hole or a neutron star.