Brian Nichols is the co-founder of Angel Squad, a community where you’ll learn how to angel invest and get a chance to invest as little as $1k into Hustle Fund's top performing early-stage startups

Most founders think traction means revenue. Big numbers. Charts that go up and to the right.

Wrong.

When you're at the pre-seed stage, angels aren't expecting millions in ARR. They're looking for something else entirely: proof that you can execute. That you can move fast. That you understand your customers deeply enough to actually solve their problems.

Here's what traction really means to early-stage investors.

What Angels Actually Mean by "Traction"

Traction is your ability to experiment, learn, and iterate. It's not about having perfect metrics. It's about demonstrating that you're not sitting around theorizing about your business. You're out there doing stuff.

Elizabeth Yin has reviewed over 30,000 pitches at Hustle Fund, and she's seen this pattern repeatedly: founders who can show they've tried multiple approaches to customer acquisition, even if the results are modest, get funded. Founders who have one untested theory about how customers will find them? They get passed on.

The difference comes down to velocity. Can you ship fast? Can you pivot when something isn't working? Do you have the scrappiness to test five different marketing channels before you find one that works?

That's what angels want to see.

Show Your Experiments, Not Just Your Wins

Let's say you're building a SaaS tool for Airbnb hosts. You could say: "We're going to use SEO and content marketing to acquire customers."

That's theory. It means nothing.

Instead, show what you've actually done:

"We ran three experiments in the last month. First, we offered free listing assessments on relevant Facebook groups and captured 200 leads with a 17% conversion to our waitlist. Second, we hosted a webinar with an Airbnb super-host that got 100 registrants and converted 5% into paying beta users. Third, we tested a money-back guarantee that reduced our refund requests from early customers to just one out of 22."

See the difference? You're not asking angels to believe in your plan. You're showing them you already know how to execute on it.

Even if your numbers are small, demonstrating this kind of rapid experimentation tells angels everything they need to know. You're resourceful. You learn quickly. You don't wait for permission.

Talk About What You've Learned, Not What You'll Do

Angels hear hundreds of pitches full of future tense. "We will acquire customers through X." "We're planning to test Y." "Our strategy is to build Z."

Boring. Everyone has plans.

Talk about what you've already learned instead. What surprised you about your customers? What channel did you think would work but totally failed? What unexpected insight changed your product roadmap?

This is where you build trust. Investors aren't naive. They know startups are messy. They know most ideas don't work on the first try. What they want to see is that you're honest about what's working and what isn't.

When you say, "We thought SEO would be our main channel, but after three months we realized our customers are all hanging out in niche Slack communities, so we pivoted hard into community building," that's credible. That's someone who's paying attention to reality instead of their original assumptions.

User Engagement Beats Revenue at This Stage

If you don't have revenue yet, don't panic. Angels investing at pre-seed don't always expect it.

What they do care about? Whether people actually use what you've built.

Got a pilot program with 10 users who log in daily? That's compelling. Have 1,000 people on your waitlist after you posted about your idea in one subreddit? That shows demand. Built an MVP that 50 users tested, and 40 of them said they'd pay for it when you launch? That's validation.

The key is showing that real humans care about what you're building. Not your mom. Not your co-founder's friend. Actual potential customers who have the problem you're solving.

At Hustle Fund, the team often looks at pre-seed companies with no revenue but strong user engagement signals. If you've got people showing up, using your product, and telling their friends about it, that matters more than having $5K MRR from three customers you personally begged to buy.

Make Your Go-to-Market Strategy Tangible

One mistake founders make constantly: describing their GTM strategy in vague terms.

"We'll use social media marketing and partnerships."

What does that even mean? Angels have heard this a thousand times. It tells them nothing about whether you can actually acquire customers.

Instead, get specific about the channels you've tested and what you learned. Here's what a strong GTM section looks like:

"We tested four acquisition channels. Instagram ads were too expensive at $47 per signup. Cold outreach to hosts got us 12% response rates but only 3% conversions. Partnerships with property management companies are promising, we've signed two pilot agreements. But our best channel so far is a free Chrome extension that analyzes Airbnb listings and we've gotten 500 downloads with 8% converting to our paid tool."

Now angels can see you're not guessing. You've already figured out what works and what doesn't. You've found at least one channel that's showing early signs of life. And you're resourceful enough to keep testing until something clicks.

The Power of Pre-Sales and Pilots

One of the most powerful forms of early traction? Getting someone to commit before you've fully built the product.

Signed contracts. Pilot agreements. Letters of intent. Pre-orders.

These show that customers don't just like your idea in theory. They're willing to put skin in the game. They trust you enough to bet on you before you've proven yourself.

For B2B companies especially, this can be gold. If you're pre-revenue but you've got three signed pilot agreements with real companies, that's a strong signal. It means you've convinced someone with purchasing power that your solution is worth trying.

Even for consumer products, pre-sales matter. If you're building a hardware product and 200 people pre-ordered it on your website, that tells angels there's real demand. You're not just hoping people will want this. You've validated it.

Don't Apologize for Small Numbers

Stop apologizing for being early.

Founders often say things like, "We only have 100 users" or "We're just at $2K MRR." That "only" and "just" kills your credibility.

Angels know you're early. That's why they're angel investors. They're not expecting Series A metrics.

Instead, own where you are and focus on the trajectory. "We launched our MVP six weeks ago and we've acquired 100 users with zero paid marketing. We're growing 15% week-over-week and our retention is holding at 65% after 30 days."

Same numbers. Completely different energy. One sounds defensive. The other sounds like someone who's building momentum.

Bring It All Together

Traction at the pre-seed stage isn't about having impressive revenue numbers. It's about proving you can execute.

Show angels you've run experiments. Share what you've learned, both wins and failures. Demonstrate that real users care about what you're building. Get specific about your go-to-market strategy and which channels are working. Land pilots or pre-sales if you can.

Do this well, and angels will see exactly what they're looking for: a founder who doesn't just talk about ideas but actually makes things happen.

And if you're serious about learning from experienced angel investors who've funded hundreds of early-stage companies, Angel Squad gives you direct access to a community that's been through this process countless times. You'll learn what actually works, not just what sounds good on paper, from people writing checks today.