The beauty about traction, is that only after you are achieving it that you really can see that you have it. It’s visible from these data points and metrics gathered over a period of time. Before you have the trend, you are sometimes flaying about trying to find it. It’s at this point that you need to really double down.
Why you might want to have a Pitch Deck ready even if you are not looking for funding
For the entrepreneur, life is often “just-in-time”. With this in mind, the typical Founder is likely to delay putting together a pitch deck until if or when they decide to go for external funding. I would like to present a contrarian view as to why creating a business pitch is actually one of the things they should be doing, even if they aren’t looking for funding today.
Bootstrapping is when Customers fund growth of the company, not Founders
When most people speak about a Startup’s funding approach as “bootstrapping”, they often are referring to the Founders putting some time and capital into the company. This is actually an incorrect use of the term in Startup “speak”, as that Founder input is still an investment. And though it’s usual that Founders put some cash into their companies or minimally defer taking anything out, it’s still actually investment. Just not an external investment. It is a type of Seed Funding.
Girls Raising event successfully showcasing startups with female founders
This week I went to a Girls Raising event in Toronto. The group’s premise is: if companies which include female founders are often more successful than less diverse companies, let’s support companies that include women founders, and give them an opportunity to hone their message and receive effective feedback.
