I share your view on this, but also think the main reasons startup take the exits are the VCs. A founder of a VC backed startup will need extraordinary argumen

I share your view on this, but also think the main reasons startup take the exits are the VCs. A founder of a VC backed startup will need extraordinary arguments to not sell to an incumbent for a high enough price. So the whole startup game becomes a petri dish for incumbents to see the natural selection of ideas and pick up the viable ones without paying for the failed experiments, and the VCs footing the bill as long as their balance sheet works out in the end.