The Final Hurdle: Reaching Minimum Viable Traction

Traversing The Traction Gap, A Remarkable New Framework For Startups

The Traction Gap Meets Crossing the Chasm

Thinking Beyond the Product

The Great Lie – Learning to Code Isn’t Going to Save the American Workforce

What CMOs Should Tell Board Members (and What Boards Should Be Asking)

On the Hunt for Users and Usage

Use Market Data to Build Your Product…Not Just Intuition

Monthly Archives: February 2019

The Final Hurdle: Reaching Minimum Viable Traction and Preparing to Scale

Written on February 25, 2019 at 6:22 am, by

Minimum Viable Traction (MVT) marks the final value inflection point, the end of the Traction GapTM. Once you arrive there, congratulations! You have successfully traversed the Traction Gap, the most challenging period of time in an early stage startup’s journey to business success. You are now a member of a tiny group of startups that  Continue Reading »

Traversing The Traction Gap, A Silicon Valley Veteran Introduces A Remarkable New Framework For Startups, “Market Engineering”​

Written on February 20, 2019 at 11:35 am, by

An Interview with Bruce Cleveland, Founding Partner at Wildcat Venture Partners. Recently, David Baeza, CEO at Buttered Toast, sat down with Bruce Cleveland, a Founding Partner at Wildcat Venture Partners. Bruce is about to publish his new book, Traversing the Traction Gap, which introduces an entirely new framework for startups to think about how to take their startup from  Continue Reading »

The Traction Gap Meets Crossing the Chasm

Written on February 20, 2019 at 10:20 am, by

Early stage venture capital firms specialize in incubating start-ups and taking them to scale. This entails working through a series of deep changes in both strategy and operating model over a very short period of time. Many an entrepreneur, and many an investor, have lost their way during this era of “pivots.” Crossing the Chasm and The Traction Gap provide playbooks  Continue Reading »

Thinking Beyond the Product: The Challenge & Opportunity of Minimum Viable Repeatability (MVR)

Written on February 19, 2019 at 7:37 am, by

Okay, so you’ve declared Minimum Viable Product (MVP). You’ve nailed your value propositions and your pricing and terms, and you are confident that your category positioning is on point. Your team is now marketing and selling your product. This means your next challenge is to reach the Traction GapTM value inflection point called Minimum Viable  Continue Reading »

The Great Lie – Learning to Code Isn’t Going to Save the American Workforce

Written on February 17, 2019 at 11:56 am, by

Over the last few years, you would have been hard pressed to have missed the hue and cry claiming digital transformation will require the preponderance of the American workforce to transform. We are told that the digital economy requires people who can code, with deep technical skills, and desire a career in a STEM-related (Science,  Continue Reading »

What CMOs Should Tell Board Members (and What Boards Should Be Asking)

Written on February 14, 2019 at 1:04 pm, by

Marketers have an opportunity to proactively help board of directors understand marketing — but most are missing out. I’ve sat in many board meetings over the past few years where the CMO presented slides full of detailed metrics on conversion, reach, mindshare and more without putting the information, which is essentially Greek to most of  Continue Reading »

Why Delivery is Just One Part of Off-Premises Jackpot

Written on February 13, 2019 at 4:14 pm, by

With most of his business coming the way of carry-out orders, it’s little surprise that Chicago Freshii franchisee David Grossman has leaned heavily on new technology to better serve ever-busy consumers. He’s signed up with two third-party delivery services, partnered with the office lunch service Fooda to cater workplace meals, and in early 2016 signed  Continue Reading »

On the Hunt for Users and Usage: Getting to Minimum Viable Product (MVP)

Written on February 11, 2019 at 6:30 am, by

By the time your startup has reached a Minimum Viable Product (MVP), it’s already come a long way. What was once simply an idea now has a team behind it, has market validation, and is picking up steam. The team has defined (or redefined) a Minimum Viable Category (MVC), performed statistically valid research, and has  Continue Reading »

Use Market Data to Build Your Product…Not Just Intuition

Written on February 4, 2019 at 6:55 am, by

Every successful startup begins with an idea for a new product or service. In the go-to-product phase, significant market research is required to ensure that the idea is intelligently framed and validated. And, while the product and its initial feature set are being validated, successful startup teams must also invest in market engineering exercises to  Continue Reading »