In early-stage startups, “traction” is a word you hear a lot. But in deep tech, it’s harder to define—and even harder to show.
You might be working on a robotics system that’s still in testing. Or training an AI model that needs six more months before it’s production-ready. You’re not selling subscriptions or launching beta apps every week. So when investors ask for traction, what do you actually give them?
That’s where this guide comes in.
Because deep tech doesn’t move fast—but it does move forward. The trick is knowing how to show that progress in a way that builds trust. Investors don’t need huge numbers. They need real signals. Clear steps. Proof that the risk is shrinking—and the opportunity is growing.
This article breaks down what real traction looks like when you’re building something hard. What matters. What doesn’t. And how to communicate your progress even if you’re pre-revenue, pre-product, or still in the lab.
Let’s get into it.
Why Traction in Deep Tech Looks Different
Most investors know you won’t have users yet
If you’re building something complex—a robotics platform, a new chip design, a novel AI framework—your product might not be ready for customers for months, or even years. That’s normal in deep tech. Investors who understand this space don’t expect thousands of users right away.
What they want to see instead is progress. Not just activity, but smart, strategic movement forward.
This could be technical milestones, early adoption signals, or partnerships that show someone cares about what you’re building—even if they can’t use it yet.
The key is showing that you’re not just building in a vacuum. You’re making moves that reduce risk and bring your product closer to the real world.
Deep tech traction is about de-risking—not just growth
In consumer software, traction often means fast growth. More signups. More revenue. More engagement.
But in deep tech, traction isn’t about speed—it’s about direction. It’s about showing that each step you take makes your company more fundable, more valuable, and more real.
Have you solved a hard technical problem? Have you validated your system in messy, real-world conditions? Have you filed IP that locks in your edge?
These are all forms of traction. They show that you’re removing obstacles that might otherwise block your path.
When you frame your traction around progress instead of performance, investors can follow your story—even without flashy numbers.
The First Kind of Traction: Technical Milestones
Investors care that your invention actually works
It doesn’t have to be pretty. But it does have to function.
If you’re building a robot, it should move. If you’re training a model, it should return results. If you’re developing a new system-on-chip, it should process something meaningful—even if it’s still rough.
Investors aren’t looking for polish. They’re looking for proof.
That proof can be in the form of internal tests, early demos, or benchmarks that show you’ve crossed a technical hurdle others haven’t.
It doesn’t need to be customer-facing. But it should be real.
Because once you show your invention actually works, everything else becomes easier to believe.
Show how your system handles real-world inputs
One of the best ways to demonstrate technical traction is to run your product in the wild.
Maybe that means your AI model works on messy, unlabeled data. Or your robot performs in unpredictable environments. Or your system integrates with legacy hardware already in use at factories or labs.
These signals matter because they show your tech isn’t just theoretical. It performs outside ideal conditions. It responds to noise. It works when things don’t go perfectly.
That’s when investors start to see your work as more than research.
They start to see it as a product.
The Second Kind of Traction: Strategic Interest
Not customers yet—but conversations that count
In deep tech, you often won’t have paying customers early on.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t show demand.
If you’ve had conversations with big companies in your space—if they’ve asked to see a demo, shared their problems, or offered to partner once you’re further along—that’s traction.
What matters is that they’re engaged.
They see value in what you’re building. They’ve signaled that your tech solves something they care about. Maybe they’ve signed a letter of intent. Maybe they’ve agreed to test your early prototype.
Even without money changing hands, these moments create real credibility.
Because they show that your product isn’t just technically sound—it’s wanted.
Relationships can be as powerful as pilots
Investors also look closely at who’s in your corner.
Have you built strong relationships with potential customers, research labs, suppliers, or manufacturing partners? Are you talking to the right people at the right companies?
You don’t need a signed contract. But if you can say, “We’re working with two companies who’ve committed to running a pilot next quarter,” that tells investors your pipeline isn’t imaginary.
It’s active. It’s aligned. And it’s moving.
That kind of traction speaks volumes—even if you haven’t shipped a product yet.
The Third Kind of Traction: IP and Defensibility
A strong patent can say more than a pitch
In deep tech, your edge often isn’t visible.
It lives in your code, your designs, your models, your processes. That makes it hard for investors to judge just by looking. But a well-timed, well-written patent changes that.
When you file for IP early, it sends a strong signal. It shows that you’ve done something original—and that you’re serious about protecting it.
This matters even more if you’re pre-product. Because before you have revenue, IP might be the clearest proof you own something others will want.
And when your patent maps to your core tech, it doesn’t just check a box—it builds real trust.
The right IP tells a story about your future
Not all patents are equal.
What matters most is that your filings protect the key engine of your product—not just side features or vague ideas.
Smart investors look at how your IP fits your vision. Does it give you room to grow? Can it block competitors from building around you? Does it reflect the technical depth that makes your startup special?
When your IP answers those questions, it becomes more than legal coverage. It becomes part of your strategy.
And that strategy, when explained clearly, feels like traction—because it shows you’re not just building for now. You’re building to last.
The Fourth Kind of Traction: Validation From People Who Matter
A smart advisor can say more than a pitch deck
Early-stage deep tech companies often struggle to get attention. But the right expert on your team can change that quickly.
If an advisor with deep industry or technical experience believes in your company, investors take notice.
This isn’t about name-dropping. It’s about trust by association.
When someone who knows the space says, “This team is onto something,” it makes the whole room lean in. Especially if that person has seen a lot—and still sees your startup as special.
Even informal relationships can help. A few calls with a respected scientist. Feedback from a product lead at a potential customer. These interactions show you’re not building in isolation.
You’re learning from people who’ve done this before. That shows maturity. And maturity is a kind of traction.
Industry nods and early attention count
Maybe you presented at a conference. Maybe a trade journal mentioned your work. Maybe you won a research grant or joined a selective program.
These might seem small—but to the right investor, they’re strong signals.
They say your idea is credible. That others in the field are watching. That people outside your own team see value in what you’re doing.
In the early stages, momentum is built from these moments.
They don’t have to be dramatic. They just have to be real. And they should support the narrative that your company is starting to matter—before the product even ships.
The Fifth Kind of Traction: Internal Velocity
Momentum inside your team shows up outside
Even if you don’t have customers yet, investors pay close attention to how you operate.
They want to see if your team is actually moving. That doesn’t mean doing more work—it means doing the right work with purpose and speed.
In deep tech, it’s easy to spend months refining a model or debugging hardware. But that effort only counts as traction when it leads somewhere specific. When each sprint gets you closer to a prototype that works, or a milestone that proves something new.
What investors want is to see that you’ve built a rhythm. That your team hits milestones when you say you will. That you learn quickly. That you adapt based on results—not opinions.
This internal velocity is one of the most underrated forms of traction. Because it reflects your execution culture. And in a long-cycle field like deep tech, execution is everything.
Roadmap discipline builds confidence
When you tell investors what’s coming next—and then you do it—they remember.
It may seem simple, but consistency is rare. Especially in early-stage technical companies where so much is uncertain.
If you tell an investor you’re aiming to complete a pilot test in 60 days, and you come back with the data and learnings, that builds enormous trust. It shows that you don’t just set goals—you meet them. It signals reliability.
Over time, this creates a pattern.
And patterns matter more than promises. They show investors that your company is not just good at building ideas, but at managing progress.
If you want to raise capital, that pattern becomes part of your case. Because no investor wants to back a team that builds in chaos. They want to fund the ones who are always pushing forward—even when the work is hard.
The Traction Story You Tell Is Just as Important
You don’t need big numbers—but you do need a clear narrative
One of the biggest mistakes founders make is assuming investors will read between the lines.
They won’t.
You need to show them how your progress fits into a larger picture. Not in a salesy way. But in a way that makes sense of the complexity.
You might not have revenue, but if you’ve hit a major technical breakthrough, show how that de-risks the product. If you’ve filed IP, explain how that locks in your advantage. If you’ve built strong relationships, tell the story of how they’re turning into pilots or validation.
Every milestone—no matter how early—should connect to your path forward.
And the more clearly you explain that path, the easier it becomes for someone else to believe in it too.
Be transparent about what’s working and what’s not
Investors know that early-stage deep tech is hard. They expect roadblocks. What matters is how you talk about them.
If you can say, “This part isn’t working yet, but here’s what we’ve tried, what we learned, and what we’re testing next,” that builds credibility. It shows that you’re in control of the process—even if the outcome isn’t perfect yet.
Being honest about the hard parts doesn’t make you look weak. It makes you trustworthy.
And trust is what traction looks like in a world where nothing is guaranteed yet.
Traction That Signals Commercial Intent
Investors want to know you’re building something someone will eventually buy
One of the trickiest challenges in deep tech is convincing investors that you’re not just solving an interesting problem—you’re solving a valuable one. This means showing commercial intent early, even if the product is far from market-ready.
You don’t need to have paying customers. But you do need to think like a business.
If you’re building hardware, are you designing it with cost and scalability in mind? If you’re building AI tools, do you know how your system might be priced or deployed across enterprise settings?
These aren’t questions you have to answer perfectly today. But they’re questions you should be asking—and signaling to investors that you’re thinking beyond the lab.
This is where traction becomes strategic. When your roadmap includes not just what you’ll build, but who it’s for and how you plan to get it into their hands, you shift perception. You’re not just a team of builders—you’re on a path toward becoming a company with revenue.
Start with small steps. Have conversations with potential buyers. Learn what their budget cycles look like. Understand what adoption hurdles they face. The earlier you map out the commercial journey, the easier it will be to show traction investors care about.
Use your traction to reverse engineer your go-to-market
Founders often treat technical milestones and customer milestones as separate tracks. But in reality, they’re connected.
The features you prioritize should reflect the needs of the customers you’ve spoken to. If you’ve had five calls with CTOs at mid-sized logistics companies, and they all mention a specific pain point, build toward that. Let their feedback shape your roadmap—and make sure investors know that’s what you’re doing.
This is traction with purpose. It’s not just about progress—it’s about validation, alignment, and commercial relevance.
And when you explain your product decisions in terms of real conversations and clear buyer signals, you’re not just sharing what you built. You’re showing why it matters.
Aligning Traction With Investor Psychology
Your traction should reduce risk in their mind—not add questions
Every investor—no matter how friendly or visionary—is still managing risk. They want to know: if I invest now, what’s the biggest reason this company might fail?
Your job is to use traction to chip away at that fear. If the core question is, “Can this team really build it?” then your progress should show technical execution. If the question is, “Will anyone actually buy this?” then you should show demand signals, even soft ones.
Before any meeting, step back and ask yourself: What’s the biggest unknown in our story? Then ask, what progress have we made that brings more clarity to that?
That’s the kind of traction investors care about. The kind that puts their mind at ease and helps them imagine your next round already in motion.
It’s not about checking boxes—it’s about reducing doubt.
Build your traction narrative around investor behavior
Most investors don’t make decisions on a spreadsheet. They make decisions in conversation, in memory, and in gut instinct.
This means your traction narrative needs to be sticky.
Don’t throw ten disconnected signals into a pitch. Connect the dots. Show how your progress adds up. Maybe it’s a story of how one technical win unlocked a pilot. How that pilot led to a strategic conversation. How that conversation shaped your IP strategy.
When your traction tells a story—and that story shows direction—it becomes easier for an investor to repeat it inside their own firm.
You’ve given them something to advocate for. Something grounded.
And that’s what turns passive interest into a real term sheet.
Traction as a Tool for Managing Stakeholders
Don’t wait until you’re raising to talk about traction
Most founders think about traction in the context of fundraising. But the smartest founders treat traction as a tool for keeping all key relationships strong.
Whether it’s an advisor, a research partner, or a strategic contact at a potential customer, traction builds momentum when it’s shared proactively. When people see you moving, they stay engaged.
Send regular updates to your stakeholders—even if it’s just once a quarter. Be honest, short, and clear. Highlight what you’ve learned. Call out what’s next. And always link it back to your bigger vision.
This habit does more than maintain goodwill. It turns outside supporters into inside advocates.
And over time, that network becomes part of your traction too—especially when investors ask, “Who else believes in what you’re building?”
Deep Tech Progress Isn’t Always Loud—but It Should Be Visible
Investors can’t support what they can’t see
Many deep tech founders are deeply focused on the work. They’re building something hard, and their heads are down. That’s good for the product—but it can be bad for visibility.
If you’re making consistent progress but not documenting or sharing it, you risk looking like you’re standing still.
This doesn’t mean you need to become a marketer. But it does mean that updates matter.
Sharing progress—whether it’s through a brief investor update, a milestone timeline, or a technical blog post—helps others see how far you’ve come. It reminds them that the work is real, and that you’re doing exactly what you said you would.
These updates don’t need to be frequent or flashy. They just need to be clear, honest, and consistent with your narrative.
The goal is simple: make your quiet progress visible to the people who are paying attention.
Progress builds memory—memory builds belief
When you start speaking to investors, not all of them will say yes right away. That’s normal. But if you stay in touch and show consistent progress over time, something interesting happens.
They remember you.
And every time you update them with a new milestone or small win, you’re adding weight to that memory. Over time, the pattern becomes hard to ignore.
You go from “early and interesting” to “focused and inevitable.”
This is how many deep tech companies eventually raise capital—not by chasing hype, but by building a slow, steady narrative of real traction.
That narrative starts with what you track, what you share, and how you connect it to the bigger picture.
Your Traction Doesn’t Have to Look Like Anyone Else’s
Benchmarking against SaaS companies won’t help you
It’s easy to get distracted by startup media that celebrates quick wins, big rounds, and overnight growth. But deep tech doesn’t follow that script.
You’re not expected to have explosive user growth or viral adoption. You’re expected to solve something difficult—then show that others care about that solution.
This means your metrics will look different. And that’s okay.
What matters is that you’re honest about where you are—and deliberate about where you’re going. You can’t fake revenue or growth. But you can show real milestones that prove your idea is on the right track.
Don’t try to mimic startup patterns that don’t apply to your category. Instead, define your own metrics of progress—and explain them clearly. That’s what turns early-stage complexity into a fundable story.
Progress in the right direction matters more than perfection
At the earliest stages, investors don’t expect you to have everything figured out.
They know you’re still learning. Still testing. Still shaping the product and market fit. What they care about most is momentum. Not the kind that shows up in vanity numbers, but the kind that’s rooted in real effort and reflection.
They want to back a team that doesn’t sit still. A team that finds answers, adapts to new data, and builds forward—even when the path is foggy.
If you can demonstrate that kind of motion, you’re doing more than showing traction.
You’re showing that your company is alive. Learning. Sharpening its edge.
And that’s one of the strongest signals you can give.
Final Thoughts: Make Your Progress Work for You
Traction in deep tech isn’t about marketing. It’s about meaning.
It’s about showing that every step you take—technical, strategic, or relational—is a real part of how your idea becomes a company.
You don’t need to have customers. But you do need proof points.
You don’t need to have revenue. But you do need momentum.
You don’t need a perfect product. But you do need a path.
At Tran.vc, we work with technical founders at the very beginning—when traction is still forming, and value lives in prototypes, patents, and perspective. We invest up to $50,000 in in-kind IP services to help AI, robotics, and hard tech teams build defensible moats that make their early progress matter.
If you’re building something complex, and you want that work to translate into funding, let’s talk.
Apply now at https://www.tran.vc/apply-now-form
Because traction isn’t about scale. It’s about signal. And the right signal opens every door.