i've seen many founders in my direct vicinity raise lots of money simply because of who they know or charisma, and with a very short deck with basically just an idea and nothing more. i've also seen other founders who were super nerdy and crazy talented, and wrote a library/toolkit that became very succesful, and who never raised any money despite endless pitch decks and actual revenue and customers. IMHO investors just want to invest in copies of themselves instead of making the right decision and investing in someone smart who they might not relate to or like. finally, if you have relationships and charisma, then most likely you haven't had time to actually build something. those who build don't have time for networking or public speaking.