Use the Traction Canvas to slingshot past $1,000,000 in revenue
The Traction Canvas™ is a one-page sales playbook co-created by Brandy Old and Craig Elias, designed to help first-time and technical founders reach $1,000,000 in ARR so they can raise a Series A. It leverages over 35 years of sales and startup experience to demystify how early-stage companies capture their first customers and cross the technology chasm. Since teaming up, they have helped hundreds of early-stage companies globally de-risk their businesses, perfect their pitches, capture customers faster and attract investors.
Box 1 — Problems
Find a problem big enough that people want to become your customers now, NOT later.
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Box 2 — Bifurcation
Three questions that help you find the 12.5% of the market most likely to become your customer.
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Box 3 — Competition
How to differentiate yourself from the three forms of competition every startup has.
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Box 4 — Seven Second Sale
How to create almost instant interest in any product or service.
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Box 5 — Enrolling
How to get meetings with your ICP before you build anything related to your product.
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Box 6 — Trigger Events
How to get in front of motivated decision-makers when they're 5× more likely to become your customer.
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Box 7 — Disqualifying
How to score and disqualify sales opportunities so you only pursue the ones most likely to close.
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Box 8 — Emotional Favourite
How to become the preferred person to do business with, so they call you first when they're ready to buy.
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Box 9 — Won Sales Analysis
How to find and replicate your biggest and best wins.
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Box 10 — Marketing Moat
Create and capitalize on the #1 WAY TO GROW A BUSINESS - Word of Mouth (WOM).
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WHY STARTUPS FAIL
Most startups don’t fail because of bad products.
They fail because founders try to skip critical steps in a rush to sell the ‘Early Majority’, the 33% of the market on the far side of the chasm in Geoffrey Moore’s Technology Adoption Curve.
To do that, they try to sell to everyone, use add-on language, pitch features before asking questions, and don’t talk to enough total strangers.
The Traction Canvas fixes that with 10 boxes in three key sections, in the exact order they are meant to be completed:
LEARN · FOUNDER LED · BOXES 1–5
10x the customers founders get from selling to your network.
Box 1 · Problems — find a problem big enough that people want to become your customers now, NOT later.
Box 2 · Bifurcation — three questions that find the 12.5% of the market most likely to become your customer.
Box 3 · Competition — how to differentiate yourself from the three forms of competition every startup has.
Box 4 · Seven Second Sale — how to create almost instant interest in any product or service.
Box 5 · Enrolling — how to get meetings with your ICP before you build anything related to your product.
Box 2 · Bifurcation — three questions that find the 12.5% of the market most likely to become your customer.
Box 3 · Competition — how to differentiate yourself from the three forms of competition every startup has.
Box 4 · Seven Second Sale — how to create almost instant interest in any product or service.
Box 5 · Enrolling — how to get meetings with your ICP before you build anything related to your product.
EARN · FOUNDER INVOLVED · BOXES 6–9
10x the Learn zone again by reaching the right people at the right moment.
Box 6 · Trigger Events — be first with recently motivated decision-makers and you are 500% more likely to make a sale.
Box 7 · Disqualifying — how to score and disqualify opportunities so you only spend time on the ones most likely to close.
Box 8 · Emotional Favourite — become the person they call first when they’re ready to buy.
Box 9 · Won Sales Analysis — how to find and replicate your biggest and best wins.
Box 7 · Disqualifying — how to score and disqualify opportunities so you only spend time on the ones most likely to close.
Box 8 · Emotional Favourite — become the person they call first when they’re ready to buy.
Box 9 · Won Sales Analysis — how to find and replicate your biggest and best wins.
SCALE · FOUNDERLESS · BOX 10
10x one more time by being more findable when word of mouth happens.
Box 10 · Marketing Moat — own the digital real estate for the 2–3 word combinations people use when they tell others about you.
Each zone multiplies the last: 10x → 100x → 1,000x. The mantra is “Learn before you earn.”
3 WAYS FOUNDERS BLOW THE CANVAS
SKIP
You skip the canvas and jump straight to building or marketing, working off assumptions instead of a defined market.
SHORTCUT
You fill in the boxes once from your gut and never test them against real customers, so the whole canvas is built on false confidence.
STUMBLE
You complete the canvas but treat it as a one-time exercise and never revisit it as you learn, so it goes stale and your go-to-market drifts.
What do you want to do next?