How Founders Can Make the Grind Bearable
June 16, 2025
Startups are hard, but you don’t need to deliberately suffer to succeed.
Today, we’re talking about how to describe your traction when applying to an accelerator program.
This isn’t the time to discuss your projections, mention investors or highlight advisors. Even if you don’t have a lot to discuss, you still need to put the spotlight on your customer traction.
Be specific about your progress and use numbers. For example, don’t say, “We’ve spoken to a number of potential customers”, instead say, “We’ve interviewed 50 US-based manufacturers; 5 have already joined our waitlist”.
Even though it’s early in your startup’s lifespan, any growth you can show could be critical, as this demonstrates both an ability to ship products and build something people seem to want. And the growth doesn’t need to be revenue. This early, customer engagement is more than enough.
Best of luck out there.
