Engage with Wildcat
The latest from Wildcat and our portfolio companies.
December 15, 2020
VIDEO: How Does the Traction Gap support Crossing the Chasm?
Wildcat Venture Partner, Geoff Moore, shares how the Traction Gap Framework supports the Chasm Framework and how a startup needs to utilize both in order…
Wildcat Venture Partners
December 13, 2020
VIDEO: How impactful are “Crossing the Chasm” and “Traversing the Traction Gap” frameworks?
Wildcat Venture Partner, Geoff Moore, shares the impact of the Crossing the Chasm and Traction Gap Frameworks. Get more information on all things Traction Gap…
Wildcat Venture Partners
December 11, 2020
VIDEO: Traversing the Traction Gap Book Key Takeaway…
Wildcat Founding Partner, Bruce Cleveland, discusses the key takeaway from the book "Traversing the Traction Gap". Get more information on all things Traction Gap here.…
Wildcat Venture Partners
December 11, 2020
VIDEO: What have you learned as an investor using the Traction Gap Framework?
Wildcat Venture Partner, Geoff Moore, discusses what he has learned using both the Traction Gap and the Chasm Frameworks as an investor at Wildcat. Get…
Wildcat Venture Partners
December 11, 2020
VIDEO: Why did you write “Traversing the Traction Gap”
Wildcat Founding Partner, Bruce Cleveland, shares why he wrote the book "Traversing the Traction Gap". Get more information on all things Traction Gap here. Check…
Wildcat Venture Partners
December 11, 2020
VIDEO: The Traction Gap Value Inflection Points Defined
Wildcat Founding Partner, Bruce Cleveland, discusses the five value inflection points of the Traction Gap Framework. Get more information on all things Traction Gap here.…
Wildcat Venture Partners
December 11, 2020
VIDEO: Do you build the company for you or for the investor?
Wildcat Venture Partner, Geoff Moore, shares his take on whether or not you should build your startup for you (the entrepreneur) or the investor. Get…
Wildcat Venture Partners
December 11, 2020
VIDEO: The Big idea behind “Crossing the Chasm”
Wildcat Venture Partner, Geoff Moore, discusses the big idea behind his book "Crossing the Chasm". Get more information on all things Traction Gap here. Check…
Wildcat Venture Partners
December 11, 2020
VIDEO: The Four Pillars of the Traction Gap
Wildcat Founding Partner, Bruce Cleveland, gives a brief overview of the four pillars of the Traction Gap Framework - Product, Team, Revenue, Systems - and…
Wildcat Venture Partners
December 10, 2020
VIDEO: Overview of the Traction Gap Framework
Wildcat Founding Partner, Bruce Cleveland, gives a brief overview of the Traction Gap Framework. Get more information on all things Traction Gap here. Check out…
Wildcat Venture Partners
November 5, 2019
Bruce Cleveland and Wildcat featured on Strategic Momentum Podcast
Ep. 60 - Startup Success: Engineering A Market to Traverse the Traction Gap - with Bruce Cleveland It takes guts, determination, and a healthy dose…
Strategic Momentum
November 4, 2019
VIDEO: A Guide for Startup Success
Wildcat Founding Partner, Bruce Cleveland, on how to use the book "Traversing the Traction Gap" as a guide to help your startup achieve goals and…
Wildcat Venture Partners
October 28, 2019
VIDEO: What’s so important about MVP & Product Market Fit?
Wildcat Venture Partner, Geoff Moore, on the importance of achieving a minimum viable product (MVP) and product market fit. Get more information on all things…
Wildcat Venture Partners
September 23, 2019
VIDEO: What is Market Engineering?
Wildcat Founding Partner, Bruce Cleveland, discusses Market Engineering and why it is critical to startup success. Get more information on all things Traction Gap here.…
Wildcat Venture Partners
September 16, 2019
VIDEO: Difference between Crossing the Chasm & the Traction Gap
Wildcat Venture Partner, Geoff Moore, discusses the differences between the Chasm and Traction Gap frameworks and how they complement each other. Get more information on…
Wildcat Venture Partners
September 9, 2019
VIDEO: Key Piece of Advice for Startups
Wildcat Founding Partner, Bruce Cleveland, discusses his key piece of advice for startup founders based on his book "Traversing the Traction Gap." Get more information…
Wildcat Venture Partners
September 9, 2019
VIDEO: What’s the idea behind Traversing the Traction Gap?
Wildcat Venture Partner, Geoff Moore, on the big idea behind the Traction Gap Framework. Get more information on all things Traction Gap here. Check out…
Wildcat Venture Partners
July 24, 2019
The Traction Gap Framework®: It’s Not Just For Startups
In February this year, we released, Traversing the Traction Gap. The purpose of the book is to provide a roadmap — the Traction Gap Framework —…
Bruce Cleveland
July 9, 2019
Silicon Valley in the Classroom: Babson College Teams with Wildcat Venture Partners & GreenFig
Range of classes to focus on formula for helping early stage startups scale and reduce risk of failure using Wildcat Venture Partners' Traction Gap Framework®…
Wildcat Venture Partners
June 26, 2019
The Elephant in the Room: Startups, Enterprises, and the Current State of Digital Transformation
I spent the early part of last week speaking with enterprise thought leaders and executives from some of the world’s largest organizations at the Enterprise Transformation…
Rohinee Mohindroo
Accelerate Innovation
June 21, 2019
“Early Stage” Venture Has Been Redefined, But Do We All Agree On Its New Definition?
Over the last decade, there has been a fundamental shift in the way venture capital is being deployed. “Early stage” funding has dramatically changed with…
Wildcat Venture Partners
June 4, 2019
The Traction Gap Framework: Four Pillars Of Startup Success
As we continue our exploration of the Traction Gap Framework® – a step-by-step approach that startup teams can use to go from ideation to preparing…
Bruce Cleveland
Young Upstarts
June 1, 2019
Traversing No-Man’s Land, The Go-To-Market Phase
This is the second in a three-part series that aims to help you understand the Traction Gap Framework® – a step-by-step approach that startup teams…
Bruce Cleveland
Young Upstarts
May 23, 2019
Venture Capital Redefined with Bruce Cleveland
Product ideation can be the most exciting stage in your starting a company. And once you are able to establish your MVP or most viable…
Founders Place Co
May 23, 2019
Bruce Cleveland at the Lean Culture Meetup
Bruce Cleveland of Wildcat Ventures (wildcat.vc) speaking at Lean Cutlure Meetup on Tue-Apr-23-2019. His talk was based on his new book "Traversing the Traction Gap"…
Wildcat Venture Partners
May 22, 2019
Bizo’s Journey to Minimum Viable Traction (MVT)
Wildcat’s CEO Interview Blog Series features in-depth interviews with CEOs who have successfully traversed The Traction Gap®. In each blog, we focus on the CEOs’…
Wildcat Venture Partners
May 13, 2019
Building Better: Wildcat Venture Partners & Obo
Welcome to the NVCA Blog series, Building Better, where we celebrate the dynamic relationship between our VC members and their innovative portfolio companies around the…
Cassie Ann Hodges
National Venture Capital Association
May 10, 2019
Bruce Cleveland Guest Appearance on Service Academy Podcast
Bruce Cleveland attended the United States Military Academy and is a Founding Partner at Wildcat Venture Partners, a venture firm that invests in market disruptors and…
Service Academy
May 8, 2019
How To Build a Startup That Doesn’t Flop
This is the first in a three-installment series that is designed to help you understand the Traction Gap Framework® – a step-by-step survival guide for…
Bruce Cleveland
Young Upstarts
May 3, 2019
Bruce Cleveland Guest Appearance on Products that Count Podcast
Every entrepreneur dreams of turning their big idea into a real business. That said, 85 percent of startups end up failing to get off the…
Products That Count
May 2, 2019
So, You Want to Build a Category…
The book Traversing the Traction Gap explains how you can take an idea and turn it into a $B+ outcome using the Traction Gap Framework®.…
Bruce Cleveland
Wildcat Venture Partners
April 29, 2019
vArmour’s Journey to Minimum Viable Repeatability (MVR)
Wildcat’s CEO Interview Blog Series features in-depth interviews with CEOs who have successfully traversed the Traction Gap. In each blog, we focus on the CEOs’…
Wildcat Venture Partners
April 16, 2019
Author Bruce Cleveland on his book “Traversing the Traction Gap”
Bruce Cleveland, founding partner of Wildcat Venture Partners, discusses the Traction Gap Framework and why he wrote the best selling book, Traversing the Traction Gap.…
Wildcat Venture Partners
April 16, 2019
Author Geoffrey Moore connects the Chasm and the Traction Gap
In 1991, Geoffrey Moore published the book, Crossing the Chasm which shed a bright light on how technology companies should think about markets. It made…
Wildcat Venture Partners
April 11, 2019
Why We Invested in Vlocity or, What Traversing the Traction Gap Looks Like
Some decisions are easier than others. Unlike other investments we have made, we knew from the very beginning Vlocity would be a winner. Why? We…
Bruce Cleveland
Wildcat Venture Partners
April 9, 2019
Bruce Cleveland: Part 2 – Thoughts on Current Enterprise Market
Part 2 - Thoughts on Current Enterprise Market In Part 1 yesterday, Bruce Cleveland talked about the framework in his new book, Traversing the Traction…
Vinnie Mirchandani
Deal Architect
April 3, 2019
ServiceMax’s Journey to Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
Wildcat’s CEO Interview Blog Series features in-depth interviews with CEOs who have successfully traversed the Traction Gap. In each blog, we focus on the CEOs’…
Wildcat Venture Partners
April 2, 2019
Bruce Cleveland: Part 1- Traversing the Traction Gap
Bruce Cleveland, who many readers may remember from his Siebel days is now an investor and has a new book out, Traversing the Traction Gap.…
Vinnie Mirchandani
Deal Architect
March 25, 2019
Bruce Cleveland featured on Follow Your Different Podcast
Why do most startups fail? Today, Bruce Cleveland joins Follow Your Different for a master class in building a massively successful B2B and why market engineering is…
Christopher Lochhead
Follow Your Different
March 22, 2019
Movable Ink & Veeva Share their Journeys to Initial Product Release (IPR)
Wildcat’s CEO Interview Blog Series features in-depth interviews with CEOs who have successfully traversed the Traction Gap. In each blog, we focus on the CEOs’…
Wildcat Venture Partners
March 14, 2019
M.R. Asks 3 Questions: Bruce Cleveland, Author, Traversing the Traction Gap
Founding partner at Wildcat Venture Partners, Bruce Cleveland understands the genetics of startups – why most flop, and why a few make it across the…
M.R. Rangaswami
Sand Hill
February 25, 2019
The Final Hurdle: Reaching Minimum Viable Traction and Preparing to Scale
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…
Wildcat Venture Partners
February 20, 2019
Traversing The Traction Gap, A Silicon Valley Veteran Introduces A Remarkable New Framework For Startups, “Market Engineering”
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…
David Baeza
February 20, 2019
The Traction Gap Meets Crossing the Chasm
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…
Geoffrey Moore
February 19, 2019
Thinking Beyond the Product: The Challenge & Opportunity of Minimum Viable Repeatability (MVR)
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…
Wildcat Venture Partners
February 14, 2019
What CMOs Should Tell Board Members (and What Boards Should Be Asking)
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…
Christine Crandell
CMS WiRE
February 11, 2019
On the Hunt for Users and Usage: Getting to Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
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…
Wildcat Venture Partners
February 4, 2019
Use Market Data to Build Your Product…Not Just Intuition
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…
Wildcat Venture Partners
January 28, 2019
Without a Category, Your Startup is Doomed
The go-to-market phase — as outlined in the Traction GapTM Framework — begins with a startup’s first product release, and ends with market validation and a foundation to…
Wildcat Venture Partners
January 22, 2019
Structuring Your Startup for Success: The Four Pillars of the Traction Gap Framework
The Traction Gap® Framework offers a way to think about the key stages in a startup’s early life. However, the go-to-market phase isn’t a straight shot,…
Wildcat Venture Partners
January 16, 2019
From Category to Growth: How to Nail Your Go-To-Market Moment
To succeed, every startup has to pass through three phases: Go-to-Product, Go-to-Market, and Go-to-Scale. In the go-to-product phase, founders are blessed with a massive amount…
Wildcat Venture Partners
January 11, 2019
Why 80% Of All Startups Fail, And What You Can Do To Succeed
The evidence is clear: More than 80% of startups fail. Every year, somewhere between 4,000 and 5,000 startups are founded. (And the real number may…
Wildcat Venture Partners
January 2, 2019
In Reply to: The Unending Chasm, and How to Survive It
First of all, I want to thank Martin for this thoughtful blog posting which I am reprinting in full here, interspersed with comments from me…
Geoffrey Moore
Wildcat Venture Partners
October 25, 2018
SaaS Myths (#1) — Great SaaS Companies Don’t Have Professional Services
The most pervasive and pernicious SaaS business model myth? It’s that “Professional services revenues are ‘bad’ and have no place in a SaaS company’s revenue…
Bryan Stolle
Forbes
July 29, 2018
Bruce Cleveland Speaks at Samsung Forum
According to data collected from product failure rate surveys sponsored by MIT Sloan, University of Michigan, Harvard and many others, the sad truth is that…
Wildcat Venture Partners
June 12, 2018
TGI presents the Revenue Architecture Series
Did you miss it? Revenue: Accelerating, Scaling & Driving Growth On June 12th, Wildcat Venture Partners and the Traction Gap Institute hosted the latest event…
Wildcat Venture Partners
February 28, 2018
The Traction Gap is defining the second stage of new-venture creation
How to get a company off the ground The Traction Gap is defining the second stage of new-venture creation In his 2011 book, The Lean Startup,…
Waverly Deutsch
Chicago Booth Review
February 14, 2018
How to start-up: 4 insights about the Traction Gap from Chicago Booth for entrepreneurs
Four insights from Chicago Booth’s Waverly Deutsch for entrepreneurs hoping to cultivate scalable success How does an entrepreneur know when it’s time to go to…
Chicago Booth Reveiw
February 12, 2018
In Search of a Venture Firm to Invest in Your Startup
Most savvy entrepreneurs know that getting a warm introduction to a venture firm substantially improves their odds of getting a meeting — and hopefully an investment. But,…
Bruce Cleveland
Wildcat Venture Partners
January 18, 2018
1Mby1M Roundtable January 18, 2018: With Bruce Cleveland, Wildcat Venture Partners
During this week’s roundtable, we had as our guest Bruce Cleveland, Founding Partner at Wildcat Venture Partners, one of the early employees at Oracle, as…
One Million by One Million
December 14, 2017
Running Great Startup Board Meetings
In an ideal world, the most open and least stressful relationships startup founders have would be with their board members. Unfortunately, for many founders the…
Edward Sullivan & John Baird, Velocity Group
November 21, 2017
How Startups Can Create Minimum Viable Traction
The top five reasons startups fail are: 1. no market need, 2. ran out of cash, 3. not the right team, 4. get out-competed and…
Vala Afshar
Huffington Post
October 20, 2017
VIDEO: Phil Fernandez explains the importance of culture and values at Marketo
During this video clip, Phil explains how the company culture and values were such a success story at Marketo and that success was based on…
Wildcat Venture Partners
October 20, 2017
VIDEO: Phil Fernandez shares what he is most proud of with regards to Marketo and how he evolved as a CEO during the process
On March 2, 2017, Traction Gap Institute (TGI) joined Wildcat Venture Partners, Velocity Coaching and Shasta Ventures to host Building the Perfect Team. The event featured an interview with Phil Fernandez, founding…
Wildcat Venture Partners
October 19, 2017
VIDEO: Phil Fernandez shares what he’s looking for in founders now that he’s on the VC side.
On March 2, 2017, Traction Gap Institute (TGI) joined Wildcat Venture Partners, Velocity Coaching and Shasta Ventures to host Building the Perfect Team. The event featured…
Wildcat Venture Partners
October 19, 2017
VIDEO: Phil Fernandez answers why he stopped hiring engineers once Marketo had a minimum viable product (MVP)
On March 2, 2017, Traction Gap Institute (TGI) joined Wildcat Venture Partners, Velocity Coaching and Shasta Ventures to host Building the Perfect Team. The event featured…
Wildcat Venture Partners
October 19, 2017
VIDEO: Phil Fernandez shares his biggest disappointment during his journey with Marketo.
On March 2, 2017, Traction Gap Institute (TGI) joined Wildcat Venture Partners, Velocity Coaching and Shasta Ventures to host Building the Perfect Team. The event featured…
Wildcat Venture Partners
October 18, 2017
VIDEO: Phil Fernandez on recognizing when company growth outpaces the skills of its people
On March 2, 2017, Traction Gap Institute (TGI) joined Wildcat Venture Partners, Velocity Coaching and Shasta Ventures to host Building the Perfect Team. The event featured…
Wildcat Venture Partners
October 10, 2017
VIDEO: Phil Fernandez discusses what happened at Marketo post Traction Gap – the next chapter in the story
On March 2, 2017, Traction Gap Institute (TGI) joined Wildcat Venture Partners, Velocity Coaching and Shasta Ventures to host Building the Perfect Team. The event featured…
Wildcat Venture Partners
October 3, 2017
VIDEO: Phil Fernandez on Marketo Nation & the importance building a team culture that extends to end users
On March 2, 2017, Traction Gap Institute (TGI) joined Wildcat Venture Partners, Velocity Coaching and Shasta Ventures to host Building the Perfect Team. The event featured…
Wildcat Venture Partners
September 6, 2017
How Legends Design & Dominate Categories
Did you miss it? Wildcat co-hosted How Legends Design & Dominate Categories On September 6, Traction Gap Institute (TGI) joined Wildcat Venture Partners to host How Legends…
Wildcat Venture Partners
August 14, 2017
Video: Phil Fernandez on why he started Marketo & the importance of team
On March 2, 2017, Traction Gap Institute (TGI) joined Wildcat Venture Partners, Velocity Coaching and Shasta Ventures to host Building the Perfect Team. The event featured…
Wildcat Venture Partners
August 3, 2017
Video: Introducing the Traction Gap
On March 2, 2017, Traction Gap Institute (TGI) joined Wildcat Venture Partners, Velocity Coaching and Shasta Ventures to host Building the Perfect Team. During this video…
Wildcat Venture Partners
August 3, 2017
TGI Preliminary Research Findings
Velocity Coaching partnered with Traction Gap Institute to interview 17 B2B Founders who successfully took their startups through the Traction Gap to attain repeatable traction…
Wildcat Venture Partners
May 25, 2017
The Emotional Side of Entrepreneurship
How the Culture of “Killing It” Hurts Founders and Companies Silicon Valley has a problem that not enough people are talking about. Great companies are…
Edward Sullivan and John Baird, Velocity
March 13, 2017
In Search of the Perfect Team
I have been fortunate to have been either an operating executive or investor in some very transformational software companies in Silicon Valley, joining or investing…
Bruce Cleveland
March 12, 2017
Meet Katherine Barr, Founding Partner at Wildcat Venture Partners
Venture capital used to be a cottage industry, with very few investing in tomorrow's products and services. Oh how times have changed. While there are…
Steven Loeb
Vator.tv
March 2, 2017
TGI: Building the Perfect Team
Did you miss it? Wildcat co-hosted Building the Perfect Team On March 2, Traction Gap Institute (TGI) joined Wildcat Venture Partners, Velocity Coaching and Shasta Ventures…
Wildcat Venture Partners
March 2, 2017
Wildcat Venture Partners Closes on New Fund to Help Companies Traverse the “Traction Gap”
Wildcat Venture Partners Closes on New Fund to Help Companies Traverse the “Traction Gap” Four Established Founding Partners Share Operating Experience and Best Practices to…
Wildcat Venture Partners
January 31, 2017
Why Great Companies Fail: How to Halt the Series B Crunch
First, some bad news: A Series B crunch may be upon us. According to Mattermark, in the first quarter of 2016, Series B rounds dropped…
Traction Gap Institute
January 30, 2017
Bruce Cleveland presents the Traction Gap at Product’s that Count
Before “crossing The Chasm’, startups must first successfully “traverse the Traction Gap”. The Traction Gap is a period in a startup’s lifecycle that begins just…
Products That Count
January 25, 2017
Bruce Cleveland speaks at Products That Count
Watch the video from the event here. DATE AND TIME Wed, January 25, 2017 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM PST LOCATION Yelp Headquarters 140 New…
Products That Count
September 28, 2016
Wildcat Venture Partners Hosts Traction Gap Event with Key Technology Executives
Wildcat Venture Partners Hosts Traction Gap Event with Key Technology Executives Announces the Traction Gap Institute to Enable Entrepreneurs to Traverse the Traction Gap Wildcat…
Wildcat Venture Partners
September 19, 2016
Building a foundation for crossing the Traction Gap
To successfully scale as a company and to help ensure future rounds of financing, startups must understand the framework of the Traction Gap and abide…
Bruce Cleveland
PeHub
September 19, 2016
Raising The Next Round (Part II)– Proving Minimal Viable Traction (MVT)
“I know it when I see it,” said Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, talking about pornography. Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs get much the same answer from…
Bryan Stolle
Forbes
August 23, 2016
How to bridge the Traction Gap
As I discussed earlier this month, 2016 has seen a significant drop in Series B financings. In order to successfully secure follow on rounds of…
Bruce Cleveland
PeHub
August 20, 2016
Podcast with Elizabeth Burstein
Elizabeth Burstein, Principal at Wildcat Venture Partners and Ex-PM at Linkedin sat down with host of Yours Productly podcast, Ravi Kumar. She discussed the Traction Gap framework,…
Ravi Kumar
Yours Productly
August 8, 2016
Understanding the Traction Gap
Venture capital’s grief might be wider than the industry thought: A Series B crunch may be upon us. And this puts more pressure on entrepreneurs…
Bruce Cleveland
PeHUB Network
June 8, 2016
Traversing The Traction Gap Event Recap
Last week, Wildcat hosted “Traversing the Traction Gap,” where we debuted the Traction Gap – a framework that describes progressive stages of startup maturity, not…
