How many people actually participate in the ICO stage of new alts? It would appear the obvious answer is a lot, considering the amount of money they raise. But isn't better to wait for the first storm to pass and then jump on after all the hoopla?
Honestly, there are some ICOs that are never necessary and with or without the crowd-sale, the coin/project would still have done well, but since it is now a norm for devs or project owners to be raising funds, it is now a norm.
Most times, except I am sure it is a project that is extremely worth it and would grow huge; I usually do not bother about investing in the ICO. Most times, I even invest and quickly dump once listed, if I trust the project, I wait for it to have a dump, and then I buy again... with that, it is a win-win.