I recently caught up with a founder who’s had a rough few months. Money has been tight, and fundraising hasn’t been going so well. The company was down to less than a month’s worth of cash, and it has been operating like this for several months. The founder was forced to keep the company afloat using his personal savings. He was stressed. But he managed to stay alive and keep pitching investors.

This month, he received the largest single check the company has received from any investor since it was founded a few years ago. The $500,000 check was from an angel investor, an entrepreneur who sold his company and believes in this founder’s vision.

Just like that, the fortunes of the company have changed and the founder’s funding worries are over, at least for now.

This story is a reminder of two things: luck plays a bigger role in success than many people realize, and there’s something to staying alive long enough to get your lucky break.