You're right, but perhaps it is slowly changing. YC et al. have shown funding sparks in small amounts makes sense. That should trickle down eventually.

For me personally, I could see investing in sparks if the teams were right. At that level, you need to really believe in the people.

It's hard when they have no history, but I think connections are possible. In particular, as a hacker entrepreneur, I think I can decently spot other people with that mentality.