Hey friends 👋
Every Friday at noon Pacific, I go live to talk startups and answer your questions.
This week, I walked through the 3-part framework we use at the Traction Lab to help founders go from “we have an idea” to “we’re ready to raise.”
BTW, before I forget: two programming notes.
No office hours this Friday, as I will judging at the NorCal Venture Conference — come hang with me! We’ll try to find a different time for office hours.
On May 15th, we’ll be hosting an in-person-only office hours in addition to our Friday one. Join us at the ConnectLabs grand opening to ask your question in person.
If you’ve ever felt like you’re doing a lot but proving very little, this is your remedy. Because momentum without a model is just motion — and motion alone doesn’t get you there.
Here’s what we covered:
Why most startups don’t fail from lack of effort — they fail from lack of focused learning
The Traction Model we use at Traction Lab to build a credible theory of progress
How to break down big, fuzzy milestones into testable decision points
What it means to proportion your effort to the evidence — and how to avoid betting the farm too early
How to use this model to track actual traction over time (not vanity progress)
Also referenced: our earlier Office Hours on LinkedIn Live where Cam and I answered your questions on pricing.
Got a sticky startup question? Drop it in the comments — I’ll tackle it live next week.
Join me Fridays at noon PST in the Substack app for live office hours:
—jdm
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