You have a good point and I believe that this is part of a much bigger problem. Silicon Valley is like a big light bulb, and it attracts a lot of startups who come here to live the dream just to get burned in the end. Starting a business is not about meeting with VCs or belonging to a TechCrunch or Demo club, it is about getting customers to pay you for the value you bring to them. I see a lot of CEOs here in the Silicon Valley who don't seem to realize this. They want to play the competitive game of getting funded, telling the right story to an investor and getting a check from them is validation. But who's to say that the investor really knows better? Or the Techcrunch or Demo selection team for that matter?
Nothing beats market validation, and paying customers as a proof...
Originally posted as a comment by mdangear on This is going to be BIG! using Disqus.