It is not true that money was wasted here.

NEM is a community project. This makes it difficult to compare it with a start-up from the so-called real economy.
Nevertheless, both have similarities.
Time, money and other resources are burnt that would normally be unnecessary, but are part of a learning process and further development.
The question is whether the project in question learns from the mistakes, has enough reserves to bridge bad times, etc..
The most important point, however, is whether it is innovative enough to survive on the market.