I'm not saying forego funding, but what I am saying is if VCs took a longer view and didn't throw tons of money at companies that haven't proven the need for it

I'm not saying forego funding, but what I am saying is if VCs took a longer view and didn't throw tons of money at companies that haven't proven the need for it, expecting unrealistic returns, we would probably have a much higher success rate in SV startups than is the case today. Even though funding was required in the businesses you listed, none of them would've grown to the size they are unless the market demanded it. I know this sounds obvious, but it seems to be a counter point to the behavior I see in SV startup stories.