Resilience, Clarity, and Timing: What Defines Fundraisers Who Succeed

The new reality for raising capital

UK early-stage fundraising has slowed sharply. Equity deal volumes fell 15.1% in 2024, with seed-stage activity down 14.5%¹. First-time fundraisings have almost halved since their 2021 peak². In short: competition for capital is fierce, and investors are screening harder than ever.

“It’s not enough to have a good product,” says Harrison Faul, Managing Director of OVC Ventures. “What sets successful fundraisers apart is their ability to truly listen… and to follow up fast. Momentum dies quickly in fundraising, so a 24-hour response time is the minimum.”

Listening, timing, and preparation

Faul highlights three behaviours that consistently move the needle:

• Active listening – “Great fundraisers don’t just answer questions, they decode what’s really being asked and respond with clarity”
• Fast follow-up – always reply within 24 hours, even if there are no action points
• Investor research – five minutes on an investor’s background can unlock a relevant ask that makes the conversation stick

These efficiency-driven habits matter because investor bandwidth is limited. Calls often last 30 minutes, and most investors join with two or three focused questions. Founders who dominate the meeting risk missing the chance to build rapport.

Traits investors say they spot early

Harry Stebbings, founder of 20VC, has probably interviewed more unicorn builders than anyone else, he’s also invested in a fair few too. His reflections underscore the less obvious traits that distinguish them³:

• Competitive streak from youth – “Whether they led a clan or played video games at a high level in childhood is a much greater predictor of success than college or university”
• Grit in adversity – “They learn to enjoy being punched in the face (not literally, of course)… and they always get up for the next round”
• Emotional discipline – “The best founders separate feelings from actions. They do what’s needed, regardless of mood”
• Strategic duality – managing both the micro (day-to-day chaos) and macro (needle-moving strategy) simultaneously
• Paradox of self-belief – “The best hold two thoughts: superiority complex and self-inferiority. They believe they’re better, but constantly feel they aren’t doing enough”

Taken together, these traits map to what investors increasingly describe as founder “quality” — a hard-to-define mix of resilience, adaptability, and obsession that sits above metrics like revenue or growth rate.

The market data behind the behaviours

Investor selectivity is more than anecdotal. Angels rank founder quality above traction or sector alignment⁴. At the same time, the early-stage journey is getting longer⁵. According to Tech Nation’s 2025 State of the Nation report, the average time from launch to Seed has stretched from two years in 2019 to 3.3 years today⁶. Series C now takes almost a decade to reach, nearly twice as long as in 2019. This extended runway demands stamina and discipline from founders who must sustain momentum across years of fundraising cycles.

Paradoxically, while early-stage rounds are harder to close, those UK startups that are reaching unicorn status, do so faster than ever — under five years on average for companies founded since 2015⁶, compared with eight years in the prior decade. This divergence highlights why resilience, adaptability, and investor empathy are so critical: the winners not only survive longer fundraising journeys but also accelerate once capital is secured.

This means the traits described by Faul and Stebbings aren’t “nice to have”. They are survival skills in a market where only the sharpest communicators, fastest operators, and most resilient leaders cut through.

Practical implications for early-stage founders

For UK founders heading into a raise:

• Prioritise listening – decode the intent behind investor questions
• Follow up within 24 hours – keep momentum alive
• Prepare with precision – know the investor’s thesis before the call
• Train for resilience – expect setbacks and develop routines to recover quickly
• Balance micro and macro – tackle daily fires while carving time for strategic decisions

As Faul concludes: “Small touches often create the most leverage. The difference between a cold no and a warm yes is usually preparation, timing, and empathy.”

The traits of successful fundraisers in 2025 are not purely about charisma or product. They are about listening, discipline, resilience, and adaptability. The UK market may be tougher than ever, but founders who build these habits — and use transparent platforms like ThatRound to avoid wasted time and mismatched outreach — give themselves the best chance of closing their round.

References & Resources

1. Small Business Equity Tracker 2025 | British Business Bank/Beauhurst – https://british-business-bank.co.uk/research/small-business-equity-tracker-2025
2. Small Business Equity Tracker 2025 | British Business Bank/Beauhurst – https://british-business-bank.co.uk/research/small-business-equity-tracker-2025
3. Harry Stebbings, 20VC – Tweets on founder traits (2024–2025)  https://x.com/HarryStebbings
4. Small Business Equity Tracker 2025 | British Business Bank/Beauhurst – https://british-business-bank.co.uk/research/small-business-equity-tracker-2025
5. State of Pre-Seed Q1 2025 | Carta – https://carta.com/uk/en/data/state-of-pre-seed-q1-2025/
6. State of the Nation Report 2025 | Tech Nation/Dealroom/Snowflake – https://report.technation.io/

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