The analogy comes from aircraft surviving combat, as opposed to general aviation, although I'm not sure that's enough to overcome the flaw you've pointed out.

The analogy comes from aircraft surviving combat, as opposed to general aviation, although I'm not sure that's enough to overcome the flaw you've pointed out. One thing I disagree on is the failure rate. Surely the failure rate of all businesses is skewed by restaurants and the self employed. It seems like building a $1B+ startup is as you say, but what about building a $1M-$10M startup?