Story in here is not nepotism, it is just that guy had more opportunities than others but that is just the way life is. That is why for example going to university is important - not for knowledge or lectures - but for getting to know people who will most likely be working in the same field.
Otherwise, what are you really mitigating by refusing to hire your CTO's nephew? If he's a strong candidate, it's not pathological and calling it nepotism is pointless at best. Otherwise if CTO's nephew turns out to be a weak candidate and is let go then again, it's completely normal. If CTO's nephew is a bad hire, yet he's retained, then it's nepotism.
>nepotism
>noun
>nep· o· tism ˈne-pə-ˌti-zəm
>: favoritism (as in appointment to a job) based on kinship
>>accused the company of fostering nepotism in promotions
(is kin) -> (preferred for job)
(is kin) -> (insider knowledge that they're better than expected) -> (preferred for job)
(insider knowledge that they're better than expected) -> (preferred for job)
Is transitive racism okay in your worldview?
Person A and B are equally great for the role but cannot do a triple summersault to land on a beam, so neither can get past the interview stage
But… A’s uncle who went to Harvard with a high-up says “that boy is good” so they hire him on that. B posts on HN about getting no feedback and submitting their CV to 100 firms.
Nepotism has happened.
Later A may/may not succeed, turns out he does in this N=1 case.
Due to nepotism.
We're all here trying to tell you that the grocery store's owner hiring his own daughter is literally, indisputably, paradigmatically nepotism, but somehow you don't seem to get it.
Rather, we are lamenting the inherent unfairness that is often overlooked or not acknowledged.