What on earth is “traction”? One entrepreneur and client, told me the other day, that she has done a lot of pitches (and she has). Her company is addressing a large niche in a hot space (mobile advertising). It seems like everyone has some level of interest, but they all tell her to come back when she has “traction.” When asked what would be evidence of traction, one wag is reported to have said, “I’ll know it when I see it.”

The elusive traction is particularly important to web based businesses, but is not limited to some measure of unique visits or eyeballs. Non-web businesses are being confronted with requests for evidence of “market traction.” If you have 1000 hits per day, traction is more than that; if you have a $10 million annual run rate, traction is more than that. Webster’s defines traction as:

(1) the act of drawing : the state of being drawn ; also : the force exerted in drawing (2): the drawing of a vehicle by motive power ; also : the motive power employed (3) (a): the adhesive friction of a body on a surface on which it moves “the traction of a wheel on a rail” (b): a pulling force exerted on a skeletal structure (as in a fracture) by means of a special device “a traction splint” ; also : a state of tension created by such a pulling force “a leg in traction”

Judging from this definition, traction is being used as an analogy suggesting the need for sufficient friction to prevent wheels from skidding while pulling a heavy load. However, the practical reality is that I have never heard an entrepreneur report being told that they had “traction” – whatever its meaning. 

You may be familiar with Xeno’s paradox. The gist of it is that if you always get half way to your goal, you never actually reach your goal. You may also be familiar with the myth of Sisyphus. The gist of it is that Sisyphus is condemned to pushing a rock up a hill and, just as he gets near the top, the rock rolls down and he has to begin again. 

So, I think “traction” means credible evidence that you can get to the end -- to an exit with a reasonable return within a reasonable time frame (for the relevant investor) (or that you can get the rock to stay at the top of the hill). In other words, when an investor says the “T” word, it sounds like they are trying to eliminate execution risk. 

Since execution is often the last hurdle before an exit, if you hear the “T” word, you are probably talking to an investor who wants a sure bet not someone who is going to take a risk on your business.