Speaking only for myself, I was enamored by VCs when I first moved to the Bay Area. I definitely put them up on a pedestal, and selectively listened to people

Speaking only for myself, I was enamored by VCs when I first moved to the Bay Area. I definitely put them up on a pedestal, and selectively listened to people who did the same. After spending about 12 months trying to raise money for my "business guy w/ no traction & no product" startup idea, I learned that VCs are highly visible & accessible because they need to generate leads for themselves. But I didn't understand for quite a while that I was bringing them a lead they would never fund. That was a hard lesson to learn.