About this episode

Harvard Professor Leslie John discusses a key tactic that significantly increases entrepreneurs' chances of securing funding.

There’s one simple tactic that makes entrepreneurs 6x more likely to get funding.  At least that’s according to today’s guest on Nudge, Harvard Professor Leslie John.  She’s spent her career studying decision-making and reveals why:  - Flawed leaders inspire more trust - Authenticity gets you job offers  - And how crying at work is perceived  --- Unlock the Nudge Vaults: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/vaults Leslie’s book Revealing: https://amzn.to/3RkFTAq  Leslie’s website: https://www.proflesliejohn.com/  Join 12,199 readers of the Nudge Newsletter: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/mailing-list Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phill-agnew/  --- Today’s sources: Jiang, L., John, L. K., Boghrati, R., & Kouchaki, M. (2022). Fostering perceptions of authenticity via sensitive self-disclosure. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 28(4), 898–915. John, L. (2026). Revealing: The underrated power of oversharing. Riverhead Books. John, L. K., Jeong, M., Gino, F., & Huang, L. (2019). The self-presentational consequences of upholding one's stance in spite of the evidence. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 154…

People in this episode

Host: Phill Agnew

Guest: Leslie John

Topics covered

• entrepreneurship
• funding
• decision-making
• authenticity
• trust
• emotional expression

Keywords

• Dragon's Den
• Shark Tank
• funding
• entrepreneurs
• decision-making
• authenticity
• trust
• emotional expression

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Harvard, Nudge, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, Riverhead Books, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Journal of Applied Psychology

Books & works: Revealing

More episodes of Nudge

• Are metrics controlling your life? · August 31, 2026 · 35 min
• The mental tricks used to break the 2-hour marathon · August 24, 2026 · 24 min
• How much should you reveal to your co-workers · August 17, 2026 · 25 min
• Katy Milkman: “Here’s how to make exercise fun” · August 10, 2026 · 24 min
• Why fear won’t always persuade · August 3, 2026 · 28 min
• How these two marketers manipulate your music taste · July 27, 2026 · 31 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Nudge podcast page.