I think the main takeaway from this is that they're fucking morons. No, seriously, they could have done this properly and told people that they were just a proof of concept, and everyone would be fine with that. They would be a bit less popular because they might disappear at any time, but when this moment came around, they wouldn't actually be possibly in a legal quandary. If someone feels like it, they could sue them.
But you're absolutely right that we can develop things here and be successful and possibly get financial backers. Steem Monster might not have financial backers of the $20 million variety but the people here all got behind them with a few bucks, or even hundreds, many doing giveaways with them. That's pretty cool.
So, when's SM leaving? :P LOL