I understand what you're getting at, but are high-energy people not working in government or other critical industries because of VC lore, or is there a significant contribution from these industries being slow and bureaucratic? If I'm a high energy person who wants my work to have impact, I probably want to work in an industry where people move fast and innovate and don't get caught up in a bunch of red tape (regardless of whether this red tape is actually reasonable).

From talking to friends and younger people entering the workforce, this is almost always the bigger consideration. Most feel like starting a company is still a total shot in the dark from a success standpoint, and I feel like there is more skepticism than ever of the startup lottery.

What I totally agree with is that VCs need to be doing a much better job telling people that starting a VC-backed company is an extraordinarily bad way to make a lot of money. The odds are just insanely stacked against you. That said, most people gravitate to inspirational stories even if you're told it's at odds with what you can expect for your own journey, so, the more of these success stories there are (even if the ratio of them relative to total "tries" stays consistent), the more people will take the startup path.