Startup Traction Strategy By Phase

Guide startup growth strategy by diagnosing which phase the startup is in (Phase I: making something people want, Phase II: marketing something people want, Phase III: scaling) and selecting phase-appropriate traction channels. Use whenever a startup founder, growth marketer, or product leader is deciding how to split time between product and traction, asking whether they have product-market fit, choosing which channels fit their current stage, dealing with rising CAC or saturating channels, wondering if they should pivot, applying the 50% Rule, or escaping the Product Trap ('if we build it they will come'). Activates on phrases like 'product-market fit', 'phase I', 'phase II', 'scaling', 'growth strategy', 'should we pivot', '50% rule', 'product trap', 'traction vs product', 'which channels for our stage', 'moving the needle'.

View on ClawhHubView on GitHub

Install

Claude CodeClawhHubnpxCursorCodexGemini CLI

1. Add marketplace

› /plugin marketplace add bookforge-ai/bookforge-skills

2. Install plugin

› /plugin install traction@bookforge-skills

3. Use the skill

› /startup-traction-strategy-by-phase

CC-BY-SA · Open sourceGitHub

Source Book

Traction

Gabriel Weinberg, Justin Mares

More from Traction

Startup Growthhybrid

Bullseye Channel Selection

Guide systematic customer acquisition channel selection using the Bullseye Framework. Use whenever a startup founder, growth marketer, or product leader is deciding which marketing channel to focus on, evaluating customer acquisition options, choosing between viral, SEO, SEM, content, sales, PR, or any other growth channel, struggling with where to invest marketing budget, trying to escape channel bias, asking 'how do we get customers', planning a go-to-market, or needs to narrow 19 possible channels down to one focused bet. Activates on phrases like 'channel selection', 'customer acquisition', 'marketing strategy', 'growth channel', 'traction channel', 'Bullseye Framework', 'which channel should we use', 'how do we grow', 'marketing plan', or any discussion of prioritizing acquisition investments.

Startup Growthhybrid

Business Development Pipeline

Build a business development pipeline with 5 partnership types, attribute-based partner selection, and a 9-step BD process. Use whenever a founder or BD lead is planning partnerships, pursuing integration deals, negotiating licensing, structuring joint ventures, setting up distribution deals, sourcing supply partnerships, or transitioning from traditional BD to low-touch self-serve BD. Activates on phrases like 'business development', 'BD', 'partnerships', 'strategic partner', 'integration partner', 'licensing deal', 'distribution partner', 'joint venture', 'channel partner', 'co-marketing', 'white label', 'BD deal'.

Startup Growthhybrid

Content And Email Marketing

Design content marketing and email lifecycle programs that work together as an acquisition engine. Use whenever a founder or marketer is planning a blog, newsletter, content calendar, email sequences, lead magnets, drip campaigns, onboarding emails, activation emails, retention emails, or any combination of content creation and email marketing. Also covers the acquisition → activation → retention → revenue lifecycle. Activates on phrases like 'content marketing', 'blog strategy', 'newsletter', 'email marketing', 'drip campaign', 'onboarding emails', 'lifecycle emails', 'activation email', 'email list', 'lead magnet', 'nurture sequence', 'email automation'.

Startup Growthfull

Engineering As Marketing

Design free tools and micro-sites that acquire customers through engineering effort rather than ad spend. Use whenever a founder or marketer wants to build a free calculator, tool, widget, grader, or educational resource as a customer acquisition channel. Activates on phrases like 'engineering as marketing', 'free tool', 'marketing tool', 'calculator', 'grader', 'micro-site', 'widget', 'free app', 'HubSpot Marketing Grader', 'Moz tools', 'lead generator tool', 'utility for marketing', 'free resource for customers'.