Isn’t “connections” just another word for “networking”? If I’m an investor I want a warm introduction. There are enough scammers and fraudsters out there that a basic filter on “who can vouch for you” is important. Furthermore I like entrepreneurs that had a history in industry, working for other successful people and orgs, before they strike out on their own. That’s my personal preference. And it’s through that history that they make the connections and have people vouch for them.

It’s not some injustice that private firms raise money and then direct it to who they want. That’s just a mechanism for reducing risk in a game where everything is extraordinarily risky.