#28 - Getting to Traction
So this week I had the fortune of being able to run a workshop for early stage black founders and the thing they were all thinking about leading up to this private session was how to get funding which a lot of black founders particularly find difficult to access.
Many investors will ask you “do you have any traction” before giving you a look in, and I actually asked those who have a better understanding of investing than I - the advice is generally to bootstrap whilst looking for solutions to market problems till you can quantify market demand.
I believe it helps to be able to really define real usage and get users to the core value of your product as quickly as possible.
So in today’s newsletter allow me to share some Sunday reads whilst I explore this further
By the way, Product Hunt’s new community manager is looking to help incubate products/websites. Best way to reach Abadesi is via her Twitter or I can give you a personal intro if you wish.
Let's Build Great Products
The Data isn't lying to you
In this article I share the importance of getting your data right and why it should remain the universal source of truth everyone agrees on.
So what is traction
This is a great answer on Quora that fits in well with how I see traction
You're Measuring Daily Active Users Wrong
I found this article really helped to articulate why DAU could be considered flawed. It is understood that many investors are using vanity metrics but that doesn’t mean you have to! Afterall, you’re the one in the trenches
How Companies Dropbox, Insta, Uber and co Got Their First Users
In the early days, there was a lot of hustle and validation. Learn how some of the big boys did it.
Sunday Reads
The 19 Channels You Can Use to Get Traction
In Traction (the book), we have a chapter on each of the 19 customer acquisition channels you can use to get traction, along with 5 key introductory chapters explaining how to find the 1 traction…
Difference Between Customers and Users - StartupRunner
Difference Between Customers and Users for Startups. Learn about in StartupRunners’ knowledge base.
Traction vs Growth — Brian Balfour
The goals, metrics, channels, focus, team structure, everything evolves and
changes as you move through these the three phases of growth. Knowing
where you are in this path helps you understand what you should be spending
your time on. Focusing on the right tactics at the right time helps move
you through this path efficiently and successfully.
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