Showing Traction Before Product-Market Fit

If your technology is not market-ready yet, your narrative has to be.

I work with life sciences startups that face one of the hardest challenges in fundraising: showing commercial traction when your sales cycle is measured in years, not months.

Here is what I am telling my consulting clients, especially in food tech, deep tech, and biotech, when they ask how to show real traction before product-market fit.

Build Your Narrative

Publish what you are learning.

Talk about your early data.

Post updates that make people root for your progress.

Credibility compounds faster than revenue at this stage.

Form Strategic Partnerships

Partner with market leaders to prove that you are, or have a chance to be, the leader in the space.

Focus on landing strategic pilots, not customers.

In biotech and food tech, a single pilot with a credible partner signals validation.

Do not chase 1,000 users.

Chase 1 proof point with an industry name everyone recognizes.

Then work towards a commercial pilot.

Partner Upstream and Downstream

Work with ingredient suppliers, contract manufacturers, or brand partners early.

Early partnerships often convert into commercial deals or investors later.

Use Advisory Boards

Recruit respected experts or former executives from companies you and your investors admire.

Their involvement becomes social proof and opens doors you cannot buy your way into.

Tell a Future Story

In deep tech, people invest in where the world is going, not where it is.

Frame your work as part of a macro trend (for example: metabolic health, circular materials, and artificial intelligence-enabled research and development).

Your story should make your existence feel inevitable.

The Path Forward

Early traction is not about being everywhere.

It is about being undeniable somewhere.

If you are pre-revenue but can show movement, validation, and velocity, then you are already ahead of 90 percent of startups in your space.

Conclusion

Closing the gap and shortening the path to profitability starts with building credibility through strategic partnerships, narrative building, and focused validation.

Show movement and velocity, and you will stand out in the life sciences startup space.

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