The answer to your question would be to track and analyze the results of VC investments there were made purely because of nepotism or social connections, and co

The answer to your question would be to track and analyze the results of VC investments there were made purely because of nepotism or social connections, and compare them to the results of those companies that actually ran the SV VC gauntlet. Although I can't possibly know the answer to this, I would be willing to bet that the success rates of the former are abysmal in comparison to those of the latter.