Less Canva, more data!

Founders love to sweat over pitch decks, but investors don’t fund gradient backgrounds or perfectly kerned fonts—they fund evidence.In this episode, JDM and Cam rip into the startup habit of treating slides like mood boards instead of proof of progress. They introduce the idea of the “validation stack”—replacing pitch deck fluff with experiments, traction, and testable evidence—and play their favorite game of sniffing out whether common slide claims are legit validation or just polished BS.In This Episode* Why “slide deck” energy kills momentum (and what a stack deck should look like)* How to turn assumptions into experiments instead of Canva slides* The trap of performative pitches vs. actual learning velocity* Startup examples tested:* HR engagement AI tool with “seven leaders said it’s interesting” → Not traction.* AI email reply Chrome extension → Users, yes. Dollars, no.* 3D render generator for architects → Pilots and polish requests, but still no buyers.Frivolous Thoughts* Cam reviews Foundation on Apple TV (while sweating on the elliptical).* JDM rants about wanting another season of Rings of Power and praises the gritty world-building of Andor. 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