barabbas, let's be open-minded for a while. Many of us are aware (though we can't always caught them) of the scams going on around crypto-world, but there are still few decent projects with good people behind them. I don't think there is anything bad in ICO's (while funds are used properly) or developers to earn some money, because if someone is working, I find it pretty normal to have some profit. No one should work for free.
It isn't a matter of being open minded, but of looking at things the way they are. Let me explain it to you a bit. ICO: Lets say that you are selling 100k coins of your project in an ICO at 10k satoshis each, ok? demand reaches only to 5 BTC, so the only real money you get is those 5 BTC, you follow? But those 5 BTC only buy 50k, you still have 50k more to sell, right? so you sell them to yourself, hence you pay yourself 5 BTC. %BTC go from your right pocket to your left pocket while your "no premine" account now holds 50k coins that, effectively, have cost you absolutely nothing. Get the picture now? Even if you dump those 50k coins for half the "price" (5000 sat) you stil make 2.5 BTC clean profit. As you can see, any and ALL ICO's, no exception, as I wrote, are a simple and easy to spot scam. I repeat: No exceptions.
Now, for a developer to "earn money because they are working", sorry but no, that is NOT how it should work. Imagine launching a coin is a business, ok, let's say a restaurant, for example... number one, a LICENSE is required. Several permits and compliances are required. A very big investment is required. And a name and address of the person ultimately legally responsible. That "simple" business is full or risk and complexity and, no matter how successful, the one's putting up the money, let's say the sole owner who happens to be a chef, is not counting on ANY PROFITS in YEARS!!! And that is IF the business is successful... as opposed to 65% or more, on average, that result in net losses instead when the lack of success forces them to close doors. Are we getting the picture now? Most "devs" are just loser jerkoffs living in their parent's garages and with a very limited ability to code some sheet. Most "dev teams" also include some impossible to employ jerkoff -also living in the parent's garage-, who took some graphic design classes and has never been paid to work, not one single day. Those "teams" usually include also some "community manager" who is the proverbial jerkoff who never has worked a single day in his life, is a "professional" stoner, has a couple of outdated antminers and has spend the last 5 years of his life jerking off to websites of one kind or another. That's the picture of your average "dev team" in cryptoland which copy/pasted the code of Shadow Coin and launch their ICO, ok? And, naturally, they expect to be paid "for their work". Sorry but that's the reality. And that is why crypto is the land in disarray it is... and getting much worse every day.
If there was any capable developer, even loosely "honest", with a vision and a plan, real investors would flock en masse to support his or her project: Sorry but it doesn't exist. Not to my knowledge. I know of some that are somewhat capable (at least capable enough to know and admit that they are not very capable but are willing to hire capable people), but not a single one that is honest... not even in the loose sense of the term. If by any miracle you would find one somewhat capable and loosely honest, FOR SURE you would ALSO find in the same person an insufferable egomaniac with absolute no idea whatsoever of what a business plan is but still convinced beyond any doubt that he knows more than anyone else, no exceptions, of finances, business administration, promotion endeavors and feature development, so you would still be left with a maniacal idiot when everything is said and done, one holding all the power (and the kiss-ass disposition of all the major investors) over the project that YOU have financed. Like the picture? How's that as a recipe for success, ah?
And yet, people in general would be more than glad to give that person also a 5-10% premine of the project without hesitation, so he could "profit from his work" (which would be as "hard" as, at most, 30 minutes of coding sheet per day, most probably not even that.
So, as you can see, my mind is quite open. To see reality for what it is, not for what you want to delude yourself to believe it is.