You are correct that it will grow at a slower pace but incorrect about invisible. There are many on here who did not put in a single dollar to purchasing STEEM who have seen their power grow. Yes it is the longer route but it is still a viable path. Plus it is becoming more of a reality since the price of STEEM is increased. Now, to buy in at the 10K SP level is about 60K....it was $8500 two months ago. The buying in to make an impact is becoming less and less with each increase in the price of STEEM. At $20, which I believe we will see within 6 months, $5K gets one 250 SP....not much visibility for that money.
Factor in communities which will increase the visibility that individuals have greatly, and you can see how this isnt a theory at all.
True, it becomes more and more expensive to buy into visibility - but this makes things even worse in a way, because the people that are already invested and have visibility will gain even more, while making it nearly impossible for newbies to catch up. Please get me right, I´m totally in love with Steem and see its huge potential, but on the other hand, some things also concern me. I wrote about it today here: https://busy.org/steem/@atmosblack/why-the-extreme-rise-in-steem-will-potentially-backfire