"When comparing the money raised against estimated revenue, you see a big factor difference between SQL companies and Graph/Multi-model companies. SQL companies raised at 20-30x (with AirTable “lagging” at 14x), while all Graph/Multi-model companies raised at 4-7x."
This data is from late stages. So, idea/market makes a difference in all stages.
Great team is a subjective idea, just like great product is. It's hard to objectively differentiate -- so traction/revenue becomes a proxy to both of those.