The starting period of every coin and exchange is always glorious,
Not actually. Especially right now when ICOs are pretty much dead, it's safe to assume that most projects don't even get a chance to get off the ground.
But if you want to go for it anyway, probably check the Altcoin Announcements[1] and Service Announcements[2] section for new projects.
[1]
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=159.0[2]
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=84.0True, I don't see new emerging ICOs worth attention and investing. But I always considered ICOs to be waist of time anyway.
When it comes to exchanges there are too many of them and not all are trustworthy. You don't have to try every new exchange, there are no some special conditions that will enable you extra profit. It's better to wait for a while to see how risky it is, is it a scam or not. You don't have to be the first one to try it.