It works as VC in other ways too.
But as you know, the success rate of a VC is about 1000:1
The investment into HP means having a stake in everything that is developed on the chain, so all of those 1000 can be developed here, and perhaps one of them is the unicorn. However, 10 of them will do very well and 100 of them pretty well - no matter which of the 1000 it is, having stake covers it to at least some degree.
Then there are the options of using stake to invest directly into the ventures themselves, for example through delegation for percentage, which then multiplies the gains in a more direct way for the individual, rather than the blanket of "just owning HP"
Lots of potential.