IOTA founders are going to buy their own token at their own IPO, paying unknown amount of BTC to themselfs. They explicitly state it. They don't perceive it as cheating.
I cannot understand why this should be an issue, or even cheating.
In your world, the public should have the right to invest an unknown amount, but developers should not be allowed to purchase any shares.
Even if the developers publicly state that they will invest some with their own money, it's still cheating.
Imagine you invent something that could change the world. Would you sell it all to the public without investing yourself?