6. The Launch: Go-To-Market and Early Traction

Traction is the quantitative evidence of customer demand. It is the ultimate proof that your startup has a pulse. Many technical founders assume that "if you build it, they will come." This is completely false. Marketing and distribution are just as important as the product.

**Do Things That Don't Scale:** To get your first 100 users, you must do things that do not scale. You cannot rely on Facebook ads or SEO yet. - Reach out individually to your personal network. - Send highly personalized cold emails or LinkedIn messages. - Be active in niche communities (Reddit, Discord, IndieHackers) without being spammy.

**Product-Market Fit (PMF):** Your goal at this stage is reaching Product-Market Fit. Sean Ellis defines PMF as "being in a good market with a product that can satisfy that market." A popular metric to measure this is the "40% rule": ask your users how they would feel if they could no longer use your product. If over 40% say they would be "very disappointed," you've likely found PMF. Only after hitting this milestone should you aggressively scale your marketing.