As I understand it, the intent of the law is to prevent non-financial people from losing thousands or more on random scams (e.g. ICOs, actual snake-oil, etc.)
The result of the law is... less clear.
The result of the law is... less clear.
The vast majority of 'investment' opportunities available to people without substantial assets or income are scams, or very likely to underperform investments.
Even in SV, VCs are feverishly competing to get their investments accepted by the best companies.
The law may feel counterintuitive, but is a good investor protection that needs to be in place.