Raising capital or selling your business? The real work starts long before the deal. In this episode of UNMASKED: The Capital Raise Files, host Alan McLaren sits down with James Umlah to explore how investor readiness, transparency, and the right partnerships can make or break a transaction. In this episode we explore: ➡️ Why preparing your business for sale from day one makes you a stronger business owner. ➡️ What investors really look for in leadership, cash flow, and business performance. ➡️ How to choose the right capital partner and align on values, expectations, and long-term goals. ➡️ Why transparency around business weaknesses builds trust and protects your deal. ➡️ How to prepare for due diligence, navigate deal fatigue, and keep your business and personal priorities aligned. Whether you're preparing to raise private equity, sell your company, pursue an M&A transaction, or scale your business, Alan and James share practical insights to help you make smarter decisions, build stronger investor relationships, and protect the legacy you're working hard to create. _____ UNMASKED: The Capital Raise Files: Real stories from CEOs who have raised capital, so other leaders can move through the process with more clarity, confidence and fewer wasted rooms. In this special series of Unmasked: The CEO Files, we sit down with CEOs and founders who have actually lived through a capital raise to uncover what happened behind the deck, the numbers and the polished story. Why was the money needed? How did they approach the market? How many investor rooms did it take? What questions created pressure? Where did trust form, and where did resistance show up? Most importantly, what would they do differently if they had to raise again? Because raising capital is never just about the business opportunity, the financial model or the pitch deck. Investors are evaluating the leader in the room, too. How clearly can a CEO communicate under pressure? Can they build trust? Can they respond when challenged? And how does the way they show up influence the outcome? The Capital Raise Files goes beyond fundraising advice to explore the lived experience of raising capital, giving CEOs and founders practical insight they can take into their own investor rooms. If you’re preparing to raise capital, considering M&A or moving toward an IPO, these are the real stories worth hearing. We’re researching why some capital raises move quickly in fewer investor meetings while others drag through extra meetings and follow-up. If you’ve raised capital, we’d value your input. It takes under a minute and all responses are aggregated and never attributed. Click here: https://tally.so/r/68yyZB If you are interested in the findings let us know at alan@strataoriginals.com 🔗 Connect with STRATA Website: www.strataoriginals.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/80453987