RAISING CAPITAL IS THE ONLY SKILL THAT MATTERS

Summary from the TLDR Founders newsletter

Hashgraph Ventures' Dara Campbell argues capital raising sits above sourcing, diligence, and decks as the skill separating elite VCs and founders, citing data that founders pitch 58 investors for one seed yes, 75% of VC-backed companies never return cash, and 13% of GPs in 2024 had no plans to raise another fund. The skill is psychological, built on likability under stress, authenticity that allocators detect physically, patience that can take three years of relationship-building before a Middle East family office wires money, and the boldness to read the room and ask at the right moment for the right size.