This is a weird point to do here, but in my opinion startups aren't the end all be all of innovation: they are needed in a system where incumbents are mostly static, but in different configurations the role of a startup can be accomplished inside behemoths or through joint ventures, or other settings.

To back my point, the Walkman didn't come from two guys in a garage. The GUI wasn't invented by Apple, linux wasn't born out of VC investment, NFC payments weren't brought to market by drop out college hippies.