About this episode

The episode discusses what factors influence investors' decisions in funding founders, emphasizing the importance of soft skills and storytelling.

Why the best tech doesn't always win, and what actually gets founders funded Here's something I say often on this show: the best tech doesn't always win. What wins is the founder and the leadership team that can actually show up with credibility outside the four walls of the company. And nobody sees that pattern play out more than the person deciding whether to write the check. That's why I brought Jason Kraus on the show. Jason is the founder and CEO of Prepare 4 VC, an investor readiness firm that has helped early stage founders raise more than $480 million in capital. He's also a venture investor through EQX Fund and Equity Venture Partners, chapter lead of Startup Grind Boston, and author of Win Forward: Lessons from Leaders. Jason sits on both sides of the table, as an entrepreneur and as an investor, which means he's seen exactly what separates the founders who get funded from the ones who don't. We got into what it actually means to "bet on the jockey," why investors say there are no more bad ideas but plenty of founders who can't tell a good story, and why Jason's own firm puts more weight on soft skills like adaptability and coachability than almost anything else. We…

People in this episode

Host: Shayna Rattler Davis

Guest: Jason Kraus

Topics covered

• investor readiness
• founder funding
• soft skills
• financial projections
• entrepreneurship

Keywords

• investors
• founders
• funding
• soft skills
• financial projections
• entrepreneurship
• tech

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Prepare 4 VC, EQX Fund, Equity Venture Partners, Startup Grind Boston

Books & works: Win Forward: Lessons from Leaders

More episodes of The Influence Economy Podcast with Shayna Davis

• Why Tech Startups Lose to Competitors With Weaker Products · June 15, 2026 · 17 min
• The Trust Ledger Most Tech Founders Never Audit · June 8, 2026 · 19 min

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