I think you're mischaracterizing what I'm saying. There are a lot of "entrepreneurs" out there who have mediocre ideas, mediocre skill at the parts of business

I think you're mischaracterizing what I'm saying. There are a lot of "entrepreneurs" out there who have mediocre ideas, mediocre skill at the parts of business that actually matter (such as negotiation, marketing, and leadership), and minimal technical knowledge, but who justify disproportionate equity and authority splits based on "connections". It can be an attractive proposition, when you're just starting out, to work for them. It's hard to tell a mediocre idea from a good one (Twitter seems mediocre on paper, but it worked) but connections obviously matter. If someone's genuinely well-connected, he'll be funded no matter what the idea is. My advice is: don't work for them. If they were legitimately well-connected, they wouldn't need you to work for them on a low or zero salary.