Nicely put. I like Valley for the same reason, it is a safe space to try out stuff and see what sticks. Uber saved my ass in London when I got stuck as the public transportation doessn't accept cash or credit (only the special Oyster Card). The hype needs to be taken with a grain of salt but there are some really valuable and useful startups out there. P.S. I too made ~ $6K last quarter on AirBnB.