Stage 3: First Traction

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At this stage, founders often hold off on:

• Scaling demand prematurely
   
• Hiring ahead of defined processes
   
• Ignoring delivery gaps
   
• Overstating traction

• Early wins exist, but results rely heavily on founder involvement or exceptions
   
• Delivery feels fragile and breaks as volume or complexity increases
   
• It’s difficult to explain why some customers succeed while others do not
   
• Sales or outreach activity increases to compensate for execution gaps

Founders often feel ready to move forward when:

• Results begin to repeat reliably
   
• Delivery feels predictable rather than fragile
   
• The external story matches internal reality

Serves: Chicago-based founders with a working product pursuing early customers and repeatable GTM motion

Fit: Provides hands-on growth support, operator access, and execution-focused programming aimed at helping founders convert early interest into traction.

Serves: Under-resourced and underestimated founders building revenue-generating businesses in Chicago
 

Fit: Provides flexible capital, coaching, and financial readiness support to help founders stabilize early revenue and prepare for scale and external scrutiny.

Serves: Midwest-based founders with a live product who need to prove early customer adoption, usage, or revenue
 

Fit: The seed program emphasizes validating real traction signals and GTM motion before companies are considered ready for larger institutional scale.

Serves: Venture-backed and growth-oriented founders seeking peer support through scaling inflection points
Fit: Provides structured peer groups and operator insight that help founders navigate early GTM traction challenges and prepare for scale, capital, and leadership complexity.

Serves: Hardtech and applied-innovation founders moving from solution to real customers
 

Fit: Offers pilot programs and industry connections that help founders

Serves: B2B founders seeking pilots and enterprise customers

Fit: Connects founders directly with corporate partners to secure pilots, validate GTM motion, and establish early commercial traction.

A clear explanation of why measuring real user engagement—not vanity metrics—is critical for early-stage startups seeking product-market fit and sustainable growth.

A practical guide to measuring startup traction, outlining key KPIs investors expect and helping founders translate early activity into credible signals for fundraising and scale.

This is a curated guide to the early-stage funding ecosystem in Chicago, showcasing angels, accelerators, and various programs that are specifically designed to assist first-time founders as they navigate the initial stages of raising venture capital.