<description>&lt;p&gt;Traction—it’s the holy grail of startups, but what &lt;em&gt;is&lt;/em&gt; it, really? More importantly, what &lt;em&gt;isn’t&lt;/em&gt; it? In this episode, Josh David Miller (JDM) and Cameron Law dive into the nitty-gritty of what traction actually means for startups.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;They break down why founders often mistake distractions for traction, how traction evolves through the startup lifecycle, and what investors are &lt;em&gt;really&lt;/em&gt; looking for when they ask, “So… do you have traction?”&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;You’ll hear:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;✅ Why sales alone aren’t the &lt;em&gt;ultimate&lt;/em&gt; proof of traction (gasp!)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;✅ The &lt;em&gt;Ladder of Evidence&lt;/em&gt;—how to proportion effort to traction signals&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;✅ How traction changes depending on where you are in your startup journey&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;✅ The difference between &lt;em&gt;confirmatory data&lt;/em&gt; and wishful thinking&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;✅ A breakdown of discovery vs. validation in experimentation&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;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:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;* Cameron tries to &lt;em&gt;not&lt;/em&gt; get distracted by philosophical TV thought experiments; and&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;* JDM gets &lt;em&gt;meta&lt;/em&gt; about traction, thinking through how to increase traction for… an event about traction.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Resources &amp; Links&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;📚 &lt;a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Rapid-Testing-Business-Ideas-Customer/dp/1119551447?sr=8-1"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Testing Business Ideas&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt; by David Bland (for real-world traction experiments)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;📢 &lt;em&gt;Traction Thinking Newsletter&lt;/em&gt; – &lt;a target="_blank" href="https://tractionthinking.substack.com"&gt;Subscribe here&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;🛠 Interested in &lt;em&gt;The Traction Lab&lt;/em&gt;? Learn more &lt;a target="_blank" href="https://rightbox.co/tlva"&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;🎧 &lt;em&gt;If you enjoyed this episode, share it with a founder who needs to hear it!&lt;/em&gt; 🚀&lt;/p&gt; &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit &lt;a href="https://zerototraction.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&amp;#38;utm_campaign=CTA_1"&gt;zerototraction.substack.com&lt;/a&gt;</description>

Zero to Traction

JDM and Cameron Law

The "traction or distraction" edition

MAR 12, 202536 MIN
Zero to Traction

The "traction or distraction" edition

MAR 12, 202536 MIN

Description

<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&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_1">zerototraction.substack.com</a>