Helps to build what exactly? Airbnb, which makes housing less affordable? When has VC created something that approximates a public good, such as a hospital?
Stripe is great and is just a massive boost to the entire industry. Shopify is also great, Apple makes great products, Google search is fantastic. I could go on.
I don't know the full history of each of these companies, but it wasn't my impression that Google or Apple really started with a lot of VC funding. Sure there had to be some kind of private investment to kick start them, but they became profitable on their own pretty quickly. "VC" to me is associated with finding an outside source of cash to fund your money losing business until you can drive competitors under. If revenue picks up the company can IPO, success! Then once it's public the stock price flatlines or drops (otherwise the venture capitalist left value on the table).
