I completely agree with your second point, however the value of promoting startups is that it is exciting and provides real world applications for what you are

I completely agree with your second point, however the value of promoting startups is that it is exciting and provides real world applications for what you are learning about. I am a biologist, and the truly great and respected biologists are those that don't simply use the tools given to them. They tinker, they screw stuff up, they see what happens...and that is exactly what a startup should be doing!