I just got done looking through Alley Insider's list of the most valuable Internet startups. And here's some disappointing news for those entrepreneurs hoping to create the next big Internet idea in the Pacific Northwest. You've got to scroll all the way down to number 57 -- that's right 57 -- before a Seattle company makes an appearance.

That company is Seattle-based Zillow.com, which according to the researchers at Alley Insider now has a value of just $60 million. That's well off from the estimated $200 million value that Alley Insider attached to the Rich Barton-led online real estate company last year. And, it is below the total venture capital (now at $87 million) the company has raised over the years.

You should take any list with a grain of salt, but I am left wondering what it says about the state's startup landscape (which usually ranks in the top five or six states in venture capital dollars) that the best we can do is 57th.

There's so much energy flowing in the Seattle Internet community. And there's certainly no shortage of Internet startups, as evidenced by Seattle 2.0' list of more than 350 Internet startups.

But where are the big ideas? Where are the billion dollar businesses? You know the ones. Companies like Facebook (ranked #1 with a value of $6.5 billion) or NewEgg (ranked #4 with a value of $3.2 billion) or Webkinz (ranked #8 with a value of $1.4 billion).

Certainly, Seattle -- with all of the money, talent and creative energy -- should have a better showing than 57th.

I've written before about the startup mentality in the Seattle area, and how it differs from the Bay Area. Entrepreneurs and investors seem to be more satisfied with base hits, building nice medium-sized businesses. Meanwhile, our counterparts in the Bay Area tend to have more of a swing-for-the-fences mentality.

Take a company like Farecast. It was posing serious competition in the online travel arena to another online search player: Kayak. (ranked #20 with a value of $800 million).

But Farecast decided to sell to Microsoft last year for $115 million. The entrepreneurs and venture investors made some good money on Farecast, and the site is now the cornerstone of Bing Travel.(It is also worth noting, and I've pointed this out before, that the company sold out before the economic recession hit).

But one has to wonder what would have happened if a company like Farecast decided to press on the gas, instead of choosing to sell. Could it be worth $400 million, $500 million or $800 million today?

That's all part of the startup game. But if more Seattle companies want to make lists like the one created by Alley Insider, they will have to take a page out of Seattle entrepreneur Sunny Gupta's playbook.

The Apptio founder -- who previously sold iConclude for $70 million -- told TechFlash point blank a few months ago that he's just not interested in another base hit.

This time, he's swinging for the fences.

"We find ourselves in a very hot area, and the goal is to take it all the way," said Gupta after raising $14 million.

That's a mentality that will be needed if Seattle entrepreneurs want to crack onto these lists, but much more importantly create very large businesses.