{"id":5075,"date":"2015-06-24T17:10:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-18T17:10:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/?p=5075"},"modified":"2024-01-11T02:18:47","modified_gmt":"2024-01-11T02:18:47","slug":"best-takeaways-traction-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/ca\/blog\/best-takeaways-traction-conference\/","title":{"rendered":"The Best Startup Takeaways from the Traction Conference"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Entrepreneurs and other business people have come to use the word \u201ctraction\u201d a little differently than its literal definition of how a tire grips the road. For startups, traction is when you\u2019ve not only developed a great business idea or product but are gaining momentum in terms of sales, hires and other growth markers. With that in mind, the recent Traction<\/a> conference, which made its debut in Vancouver last week was aptly named.<\/p>\n

Produced by the same group behind Launch and Cascadia Summit<\/a> which closed Vancouver Startup Week, the Traction conference brought together big names from a wide range of both established and emerging firms. We\u2019ve rounded up some of the key insights from speakers and attendees:<\/p>\n

Progress Starts With Being Honest About Your Struggles<\/b><\/p>\n

One of the best tweets from Traction included a photo from a talk by Ben Yoskovitz<\/a>, a seasoned entrepreneur who is also a partner with an accelerator program called YearOneLabs<\/a>. His message: \u201cDon\u2019t lie to yourself about where you\u2019re at, even if you\u2019re not very far down (the road you want to go).\u201d In other words, frameworks like Lean analytics<\/a> break down the many stages of a startup\u2019s life, from \u201cempathy\u201d (recognizing a poorly-met need to \u201cstickiness\u201d (creating a product that meets that need and which people actually use), and so on. Being clear about these milestones will help entrepreneurs focus their priorities accordingly.<\/p>\n

When You\u2019re Using Trial And Error, Spend Less Time on The Errors<\/b><\/p>\n

Traction isn\u2019t just the name of the conference but a book by Justin Mares<\/a>, who was among the event\u2019s keynote speakers. Several of Mares\u2019 points were captured in social media. For one, startups should not just come up with innovative products and services but an innovative sales strategy: \u201cIf you can acquire customers in a way your competitors aren\u2019t, that\u2019s a huge competitive advantage,\u201d he said<\/a>, adding that while entrepreneurs will inevitably make mistakes, they should focus on the areas where they win. \u201cOnce you find something that works, double down on it. Keep doing it until it doesn\u2019t work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Social Media Biz captured another important tip from Maron<\/a>: that go-to-market strategies (or lack thereof) may explain why venture capitalists are reluctant to fund many startups. \u201cThe number one reason they pass on entrepreneurs they\u2019d otherwise back is because the founders focus on product to the exclusion of everything else.\u201d<\/p>\n

Apply The Concept of \u2018Traction\u2019 To Success Metrics<\/b><\/p>\n

The Vancouver Observer<\/i> did a great job of interviewing not only organizers but many of the startups who sat in on Traction keynotes and sessions<\/a>. They all had different ways of categorizing what \u201ctraction\u201d meant to them in terms of evaluating their progress. This included:<\/p>\n