<p>Hey friends 👋</p><p>You’ve had the good conversations. Coffee chats that ended with “this is really interesting.” Followers who DM you to say they can’t wait. And when you go to investors, they pass.</p><p>Because interest and evidence are two completely different things.</p><p>This week, JDM and Cameron are joined by Nikki Sims — operator, VC fund veteran, and someone who’s actually seen what happens when founders confuse the two. In a special format, we invited founders from the <a target="_blank" href="https://tlvs.link">Traction Lab Venture School</a> to join us on the livestream to ask their questions.</p><p>We covered traction signals that matter in historically offline industries, what happens to your roadmap when you land a 227-location enterprise deal, why your TAM slide is probably lying to investors without you realizing it, what to do when your market has a literal expiration date, and how to think about funding a hard goods business when VC math doesn’t apply.</p><p>Nikki didn’t hold back. Neither did the guys. It’s the kind of honest investor feedback you usually only get if you already know someone.</p><p>As always, thanks for listening.</p><p>—Cameron and JDM</p><p>Timestamps</p><p>00:00 - Introduction & Nikki Sims</p><p>05:00 - Traction in offline markets (AgTech / game birds)</p><p>18:00 - When your market has an expiration date</p><p>24:30 - The enterprise trap: SMB to 227 locations</p><p>32:00 - Funding a hardware business (not a SaaS)</p><p>51:00 - TAM slides: bottoms-up or bust</p><p>58:30 - Biotech buy vs. build decisions</p><p>1:02:30 - Channel strategy for construction tech</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>