Last month an entrepreneur was asking me questions about building a marketing machine for his startup. Naturally, I pointed him to the book Traction: A Startup Guide to Getting Customers by Gabe Weinberg. Then, last week, an entrepreneur brought up some ideas around accountability and operational metrics from the book Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business. Clearly, traction is a hot-button item.
Here are a few reasons why traction is so important:
- Traction, especially early on, is the primary driver of determining product/market fit.
- Investors are in the business of making money, and minimizing risk. The best way to minimize risk? Show strong traction if you want to raise money.
- Traction provides oxygen for the product.
Looking for books to read over the upcoming holiday break, read Traction and Traction. Building a repeatable customer acquisition process and a scalable business are critical for successful startups.
What else? What are some more thoughts on traction?
David Cummings on Startups 