Yes, ICOs are a viable and easier alternative for new blockchain ideas to make enough capital to succeed. However, there are many ICOs right now, like the EOS ICO, which are selling tokens that have no utility and thus no real value. And they made more than 185 million dollars in 5 days. People need to read the whitepapers of the blockchain platforms and research on them before investing money, otherwise ICOs will be seen in a negative light in the future and valuable blockchain ideas will not get too much funding.