From low conviction to high conviction

Hey friends 👋We’re back from our turkey coma with a high-stakes game that every founder needs to understand: what does high conviction actually look like?In this episode, we break down the framework we use at Traction Lab to separate startups that are actually working from those just spinning their wheels. We’re talking clear economic buyers, urgent problems, evidence over assumptions, and the willingness to kill your darlings when the data tells you to.Then we put our money where our mouth is by rating three contrived examples live—from a Slack summarizer Chrome extension to healthcare compliance software to a screen time tracking app. We don’t hold back on what separates a “nice feature on someone else’s roadmap” from a venture-backable business.The big themes? Stop confusing worry with urgency. Your MAU doesn’t matter if nobody’s paying. And if you’re saying “we’ll figure out monetization at 50K users,” what you’re really saying is “we’re building a hobby first, then hoping it becomes a business.”We also dive into why freemium can mask fatal problems, how to know if you’re scaling a leaky funnel, and the one phrase that always makes us nervous: “we think we can convert...”In Frivolous Thoughts: Cameron teaches us the Scottish art of “hurl-durling” (lounging in bed way too long), and JDM recommends A Man on the Inside on Netflix for your brain candy needs.—Cameron and JDM 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