But this allows an average well-informed SF employee to invest $1,000-2,000/month of his/her salary into any startup they like - hardly a life changing amount.

But this allows an average well-informed SF employee to invest $1,000-2,000/month of his/her salary into any startup they like - hardly a life changing amount. See it as a Kickstarter on steroids. At least this gives us a chance too to invest in the next Dropbox and Airbnb. These aren't "ordinary" people? This model's only barrier to entry is the $1k it takes to get in (AFAICT) its not limited to "well-informed SF employees".