All Roads Lead to Distribution

If a startup launches in the woods and no one’s around to hear it… did it ever even exist?In this episode, JDM and Cam throw some serious shade at the myth of “build it and they will come” and make the case that nothing — literally nothing — matters if you don’t have a way to get in front of real customers.This isn’t just about launching. It’s about building a repeatable, scalable, and evidence-backed channel strategy — before your runway runs out and you’re left pitching to investors with nothing but vibes and screenshots.They break down why “launching” is not a strategy (nor even a milestone), why Product Hunt doesn’t count as go-to-market, and why founders should be running experiments, not hope-fueled PR campaigns.Then four distribution strategies get judged on whether they’re actually strategic — or just desperate grasping at attention.In This Episode* Why launch culture is a trap — and what to do instead* How distribution is tied to your riskiest assumption* Why all customer learning eventually flows through distribution* The difference between building for attention vs. building for adoption* Why “tweaking the screenshots” is not going to save your fourth Product Hunt flopFrivolous Thoughts* JDM rediscovers NPR’s All Songs Considered and goes full music nerd about new summer albums* Cam hits a major personal milestone: a sub-6-minute mile (5:54!) as part of his marathon prep* Also: fidget toys, a can of turd polish, and an unexpected kettlebell cameo? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit zerototraction.substack.com