The good news is that it’s entirely possible to successfully fundraise without significant traction, but the caveat is that it depends on your situation. For example, if you’re a team with a proven track record of building successful products and companies, you won’t need as much traction as a team of founders who are giving it a go at their first rodeo. If this is the case for you as an unproven founder, then gaining strong traction — gaining users, receiving customer validation, developing a robust pipeline — becomes a compelling story and can very well compensate for your inexperience. Whether you’re seasoned founders or new to the game, communicating in your pitch deck that you have a strong team is crucial for early-stage companies.
Sometimes other factors are more compelling and can therefore make up for a lack of traction. A massive market size coupled with favorable market conditions and industry trends can tip the scale in your favor. For example, as a new post-pandemic world is emerging, companies innovating in the Future of Work space with little traction may be in a more favorable position than another startup with more traction but a less timely endeavor. In your pitch deck, it’s crucial, then, that you convey a narrative that emphasizes your advantage.
When it comes down to it, though, strong traction is great leverage to have as an early-stage company. Whatever wins you have, our research shows that Pre-Seed and Seed pitch decks that dedicate at least two slides to showing it off are the most successful. This means that if you have fabulous traction, don’t cram it all into one slide! Spread it out over a few slides — any investors viewing your deck will have no choice but to notice it more. For more established companies raising their Series A round, a robust traction section is even more crucial. It’s important to dedicate at least three slides that show off multiple types of traction in the form of revenue numbers, growth metrics, and customer satisfaction, to name a few.