I agree it's difficult to convince folks to change ... I can't get my family to leave Gmail (for instance). Still, I support projects that reach for better privacy, security and transparency. My hope is that, while most people may not switch, perhaps enough will that it pushes those "primary email providers" to move in a similar direction.
I think all these startups fail to realize that people will not leave their primary email provider (for long) and they doom themselves to stay a niche product with diminishing popularity after the initial exaltation.