

Ask HN: what level is "traction"? - michael_c

We read in a lot of places about getting "traction" before speaking with investors, but have never really understood at what level this means. Ie<p>- 100 or 100,000 users?
- 1,000 free users or 10 paying ones?
- high conversion rate or repeat visits?<p>I realize every startup is different but would love to hear what figures you were getting when you / investors considered you had "traction".
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damoncali
They're looking for a _repeatable, scalable business model_ that they can pour
cash into. Beyond that, it's all a matter of the investors' risk tolerance.
(How little proof do they need before parting with their money?)

The metrics you're looking for are just pieces of the puzzle - you need to
tell a story that says "if you put money into our black box, you'll get more
out". There are no magic numbers.

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cperciva
As far as I can tell, "traction" is a synonym for "the VCs I play golf with
have heard of you" -- social proof and all that. But I'd also love to hear
opinions from people with direct experience here.

In addition to the already stated metrics of #users, #payingusers, #visitors,
and %conversionrate, I'd hope VCs would look at $revenue, $profit, and
%monthlygrowth.

