Traction: A Startup Guide to Getting Customers

by Gabriel Weinberg

Traction is a sign that something is working. If you charge for your product, it means customers are buying. If your product is free, it’s a growing userbase.

The whole point of a startup is to grow rapidly.

traction is growth. The pursuit of traction is what defines a startup

far too many startups focus on the same channels (search engine marketing, public relations) and ignore other promising ways to get traction.

Trust Me, I’m Lying

You should be able to think of at least one idea for every channel – that’s brainstorming!

You should know what marketing strategies have worked in your industry, as well as the history of companies in your space. It’s especially important to understand how similar companies acquired customers over time, and how unsuccessful companies wasted their marketing dollars.