Hey friends 👋
Every Friday at noon Pacific, we go live to answer your startup questions and share real talk about finding traction in the market.
This week, we tackled one of the trickiest challenges founders face:
Telling the difference between real traction and shiny distractions.
When you’re early, everything feels like a signal:
A big brand shows “interest”
You land a pilot (that goes nowhere)
Someone loves your pitch (but ghosts when it’s time to sign)
You get downloads, signups, followers — but no actual progress toward paying customers
Traction isn’t a vibe. It’s evidence.
We dug into:
How to tell the difference between weak and strong traction signals
Why it’s dangerous to proportion effort to excitement instead of evidence
How distractions cost you not just time — but momentum, credibility, and cash
The mental model I use with founders to assess if a “win” is actually compounding value
And how to stay focused when everything looks shiny but nothing’s really moving
If you’ve ever felt busy but aren’t sure if you’re actually getting closer to your goals — this one’s for you.
Join us Fridays at noon PST in the Substack app for live office hours.
You bring the chaos. I’ll help you find the signals that matter.
— Cam & JDM
P.S. Wondering whether your current traction is real or fake? Drop it in the comments and we’ll take a look.
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