I can vouch for VCs investing in nothing. I can name at least three people not 1/100 as talented as I am who've raised funding in the double- and triple-digit millions. One I recently had the misfortune of working for.
I don't know if watching idiots have enormous success should be taken as encouraging (if they can do it, so can I) or discouraging (in the what-the-shitz-is-going-on sense) but, whatever man. I've definitely seen some fucked-out morons get funding, and not a small number.
It's not about how talented you are, per se. It's about how talented you appear to other people (VCs, in this case).
The best way to demonstrate that talent is to start your own company and make it wildly successful. Until then, the risk of investing in you will be greater than the risk of investing in someone else who has done that, regardless of your respective talent levels.
I've worked for people whose biggest talent was convincing other people they're talented. It sucks, but take that as a lesson in what talents you might be lacking rather than dismissing potential investors as "idiots."
Of the 3 morons who come to mind as morons who raised money, one did so circa 2000 when it was easy and another one managed to tweak someone into acq-hiring his first startup as a charity (and thus secure funding for his next act). The third is from a prominent family and got funded on connections and nothing else.
It's depressing to watch people like that get funding. I have no faith that any of these king-makers really have much sense. No idea if I could do their jobs better, because it may be that sizing people up is just an unsolvable problem that we've tricked ourselves into believing we can hack (i.e. fooled by randomness) but I know I wouldn't be worse.
I don't know if watching idiots have enormous success should be taken as encouraging (if they can do it, so can I) or discouraging (in the what-the-shitz-is-going-on sense) but, whatever man. I've definitely seen some fucked-out morons get funding, and not a small number.