Replay: pilot purgatory, defensibility drama, and the gym sock of startup funnels
We're live 3x per week now, and this one was jam-packed with another stack of founder questions — and a few brutal truths.
Read moreTraction Lab Venture Accelerator - Find the traction you need to raise your next round
TLVA is a venture-building laboratory to help pre-seed and seed-stage startups get to their next fundraising round in half the time.
We help pre-seed/seed-stage, tech-enabled startups in large, growing markets achieve product-market fit faster.
Our proven “Traction Lab” process cuts the time to traction in half by guiding founders through market hypothesis testing, speeding up fundraising, and accelerating the path to scale, in exchange for a small warrant-based equity stake.
As the only program in the Sacramento region focused on market traction at the seed stage, we identify promising founders early and help them scale faster—while reducing burnout and decision fatigue.
Our goal is to prepare our portfolio companies for their next priced round. We aim for our portfolio companies to be ready to pitch to investors and raise their Series Seed or Series A round of funding within 6-12 months, and successful exits in 3-5 years.
The Traction Lab Venture Accelerator is powered by the Carlsen Center and The Right Box — two organizations renowned for fueling Sacramento’s startup ecosystem. With years of experience, they’ve collectively supported thousands of founders, facilitated successful fundraising rounds, and launched programs that drive real market traction.
Their proven collaborations and deep community ties ensure TLVA is built on a foundation of expertise, trust, and results.
- Raised by our startups
- $50M+
- Investors in network
- 100+
- Mentors engaged
- 40+
What's in it for founders? - Why join the Lab?
The TLVA is a unique, stage-gated “venture lab” designed with the needs of founders in mind. We partner with venture-backable startups to provide erverything they need to get to their next round of funding:
Mentorship
- Expert mentorship. Receive personalized guidance from industry leaders and startup experts to navigate challenges and achieve your growth milestones.
- Strategic workshops. Engage in workshops focused on growth hacking, rapid prototyping, and partnership development to enhance your strategic capabilities.
- Accountability. Stay on track with regular check-ins and support to ensure you meet key milestones for growth and fundraising.
- Investment readiness. Develop a clear pathway to prepare for and attract potential investors.
Network
- Thriving community. Join a global network of designers, developers, marketers, and fellow founders to collaborate and grow together.
- Powerful network. Leverage our extensive connections to access the people and resources essential for raising capital and expanding your business.
- Masterminds & roundtables. Participate in collaborative sessions with fellow founders to accelerate customer discovery, product-market fit, and fundraising efforts.
Resources
- Access to capital. Connect with a robust investor network and secure the funding needed to scale your startup.
- Non-dilutive funding. Utilize experiment dollars to drive traction and growth without relinquishing additional equity.
- Operational support. Streamline your operations with as-needed support in marketing, legal, HR, finance, and product development.
Ready to join the Traction Lab?
We accept applications on a rolling basis, and admit new companies into the portfolio in “forums” of 3–5 startups at a time. The application should take about 30 minutes to complete, and you’ll need to provide a video and some references.
The Traction Lab process - 10 months to investment-ready growth.
The process is structured into distinct phases with stage-gated milestones, ensuring founders validate critical assumptions, achieve measurable traction, and are investor-ready before progressing. Here’s how it works:
- 1. Milestone-based progression. Each phase includes clear milestones to met before advancing, keeping founders focused and accountable.
- 2. Iterative validation. Regular checkpoints to refine strategy based on real-world feedback, ensuring they’re gaining the traction they need.
- 3. Investor readiness. Through our process, startups have a validated business model, key traction metrics, and a compelling pitch for pre-seed or seed funding.
Frequently asked questions - You've got questions. We've got answers.
Applications are open now! We formally kick off the accelerator at the start of 2025, and we will be accepting companies into our portfolio on a rolling basis. Here’s how to get started:
Applying
Eligibility
About the program
Our culture - We’re not f—ing around.
Because neither are you. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have crazy fun doing what we love. These are the principles that guide us:
- Do sh*t that matters. Life is short. Yesterday & tomorrow don’t exist. Make an impact — now.
- Fail quickly and cheaply (but not epicly). Failure is inevitable; failure is data. True… but never fail more than you have to.
- Don’t make the same mistake twice. Why revisit old mistakes when there is plenty of new ground to explore?
- Never trust the vibes. “Gut” is a euphemism for motivated guessing. Vibes are great starting points, but they’re not data.
- Be biased toward action. Thinking is where we get started, but it’s not how we make progress. When in doubt, do.
- Crack jokes & crack up. If innovating isn’t fun and funny, you’re doing it wrong.
Founding team
We’re investing our time, talent, treasure, and ties to helping founders find traction and funding in 2025 and beyond.
Recent articles
We run multiple newsletters for innovators, including Traction Thinking and Founding with AI, and co-host the podcast Zero to Traction. Here are some recent things we’ve said:
Service-as-a-Software
This one’s for all the founders whose startup is secretly a freelance gig in a SaaS costume.
Read moreThis founder ran the long game — and won
How startups are like marathons, and what founders can learn from one founder’s finish line — and why it’s only the beginning.
Read moreCool Story… but What Did You Learn?
If you’re telling a founder story that ends with a shrug and no new insight, it’s not traction — it’s startup fan fiction.
Read moreReady to join the Traction Lab?
We accept applications on a rolling basis, and admit new companies into the portfolio in “forums” of 3–5 startups at a time. The application should take about 30 minutes to complete, and you’ll need to provide a video and some references.