Venture capital investors (VCs) often invest in ideas and development teams, having faith they will work their way toward success. Ethereum democratized that process beyond VCs. For perspective on the price of ether in this crowdsale, consider that at the start of April 2017, ether was worth $50 per unit, implying returns over 160x in under three years.19 Just over 9,000 people bought ether during the presale, placing the average initial investment at $2,000, which has since grown to over $320,000.20
