The primary problem with these "how we raised..." posts is that the authors rarely acknowledge that raising money with or without x, y and z is in most cases largely a function of the current market and economic environment and less a function of their "story" or fundraising wizardry. In other words, if you have an idea, decent track record, the financial markets are not depressed and capital is cheap, you can probably find somebody who will cut you a check.

Unfortunately, during down cycles, you don't see many "how we failed to raise money even though we had x, y and z" blog posts, even though plenty of those stories exist.