Traction Thinking

Traction Thinking

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🧠 Deep Dives

🧠 What your burn rate isn’t telling you
A 12-month runway sounds great — until you realize you’ve been burning to prove nothing.
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How to spot a VC who will absolutely ruin your life
Some investors help you scale; others demand KPIs before your MVP is live. Get funded without getting f**ed — here’s how to spot the red flags before…
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🧠 What investors actually mean by “big market”
Here’s a three-part framework for what investors are actually looking for in a pitch: a Credible Theory of Hugeness.
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🧠 Congrats on your “traction” — here’s a participation trophy
Here are 5 traction metrics that don’t mean what you think they mean. They're just a heavy hit of hopium.
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🧠 Move twice as fast — the 3 pillars of startup traction
Reach your next milestone in half the time — without burning time or money on the wrong things.
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🧠 The 10 startup vanity metrics that scream red flag
These are metrics founders love to flex — but that make investors, customers, and anyone who knows real traction cringe.
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🧠 Your MVP should have been a prototype
An MVP is a pretty inefficient way to test your idea. Try rapid prototyping instead.
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🧠 12 words to delete from your startup vocabulary
These startup buzzwords make you sound clueless, cringe, or just plain boring. So cut these 12 words from your pitch, your deck, and your conversations…
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🧠 the 8 things investors look for in a pitch (that you should too)
Let's dive deep into the 8 T's: team, TAM, timing, traction, theory, tracking, terms, and technology.
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🧠 How to craft a perfect elevator pitch
Let's talk about what goes into a killer elevator pitch — and some common mistakes you’d do well to avoid. Plus! Four fill-in-the-blank templates you…
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🧠 Deep dive — the 3 rules of startups
Startups are really hard, but they’re not complicated: first know what the thing is; know what you know vs what you’ve assumed; test the riskiest…
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🧠 Deep dive — the ultimate guide to product-market-fit
Get 10 startup experts together and you'll get 10 definitions — and none will be actionable. But the product-market fit spectrum is. Let's stage-gate…
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JDM
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