Right, she should've rejected that money, it would only be fair if it was as hard for her as it is for us.
Why is it important that she has connections? Does being upset about that help you in any way?
Sorry, I'm really jaded about this kind of victim mentality. Ignore what advantages others have and build your tower as high as you can.
From an individual point of view, sure, you really can't control stuff like that, and you're better off concentrating on making your own stuff better.
But that's not the conversation here. This discussion is about the whole system, and particularly the statement that "this is how innovation works."
It is, however, a cautionary tale about how inefficient and risky nepotism is. It didn't hurt me at all, but it hurt the investors who failed to examine Theranos' merit.
It's also separately interesting because SV's meritocracy is a fairly prevalent myth, and it's what people believe (or believed) was special about SV in the first place.