Sorry, but nepotism, politics and connections are even more important in the cryptocurrency/blockchain industry than in traditional tech or even finance. In crypto/blockchain it's ALL about who you know. And the lack of good regulation means that good contacts can get your firm advantages that would literally be illegal in the traditional finance world. I guess the only real distinction is that the industry is spread out more and not centered in one or two cities.
If you want a hyped up ICO, yes it has been like this and that's why there are so many crappy projects with a high market cap right now but this is changing.
Ultimately, cryptocurrencies which are backed by real value are the ones which are going to stick around. Right now the ecosystem is mostly still founded on hype but all that hyped up money needs somewhere to go so there are a lot of opportunities even if you have very limited connections.
