The "traction or distraction" edition
<p>Traction—it’s the holy grail of startups, but what <em>is</em> it, really? More importantly, what <em>isn’t</em> it? In this episode, Josh David Miller (JDM) and Cameron Law dive into the nitty-gritty of what traction actually means for startups.</p><p>They break down why founders often mistake distractions for traction, how traction evolves through the startup lifecycle, and what investors are <em>really</em> looking for when they ask, “So… do you have traction?”</p><p>You’ll hear:</p><p>✅ Why sales alone aren’t the <em>ultimate</em> proof of traction (gasp!)</p><p>✅ The <em>Ladder of Evidence</em>—how to proportion effort to traction signals</p><p>✅ How traction changes depending on where you are in your startup journey</p><p>✅ The difference between <em>confirmatory data</em> and wishful thinking</p><p>✅ A breakdown of discovery vs. validation in experimentation</p><p>Plus, JDM picks fights with vanity metrics (again), Cass reigns supreme as co-host, and the guys end as they always do, with frivolous thoughts:</p><p>* Cameron tries to <em>not</em> get distracted by philosophical TV thought experiments; and</p><p>* JDM gets <em>meta</em> about traction, thinking through how to increase traction for… an event about traction.</p><p><strong>Resources & Links</strong></p><p>📚 <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Rapid-Testing-Business-Ideas-Customer/dp/1119551447?sr=8-1"><em>Testing Business Ideas</em></a> by David Bland (for real-world traction experiments)</p><p>📢 <em>Traction Thinking Newsletter</em> – <a target="_blank" href="https://tractionthinking.substack.com">Subscribe here</a></p><p>🛠 Interested in <em>The Traction Lab</em>? Learn more <a target="_blank" href="https://rightbox.co/tlva">here</a></p><p>🎧 <em>If you enjoyed this episode, share it with a founder who needs to hear it!</em> 🚀</p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://zerototraction.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1">zerototraction.substack.com</a>
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