Really great insight. Being part of an accelerator program/tv show/pageant shouldn't be all that matters. It should be about building real businesses that solve actual problems the founders can relate with. Not building just a feature.
There definitely is a beauty pageant aspect to the startup/incubator culture. And TechCrunch is largely to blame. They've keep cheering on anyone who gets a well-oiled slide desk ready, puts some make-up on, and panders to VC's. Meanwhile they completely miss out actual technology news, and don't report true innovation.