You need more traction!
Welcome to the Seventy-fifth edition of Unstoppable Founders!
👑 #Unstoppable Female Founder
Some founders build businesses. Others build movements. My next Unstoppable Female Founder is doing both — and she's barely 30. She is Nicola Gunby, Co-founder & CMO of CLIQ. The community focused app, helping you find your people - in real life, not just digital!
I met Nicola about a year ago when she was really ramping up marketing efforts for CLIQ and launching their crowdfund raise. We went for lunch in London and I was immediately impressed with her focus and vision, but also her energy and tenacity.
Before CLIQ, Nicola turned a personal challenge into entrepreneurial success. While traveling in Melbourne, Australia with her partner Jason Iliffe, she needed to make cash and decided to use her skills as a freelance makeup artist. Great in theory, however she struggled to build a client base as most work was being booked through referrals and word of mouth. Her solution? AMB Beauty, an online marketplace connecting beauty professionals with clients. (Think Treatwell specifically for makeup and beauty professionals.) The platform took off quickly and was acquired by Revolution Beauty in 2022, becoming MY REV.
CLIQ emerged from Nicola's own experience of feeling disconnected after moving to London, something that was exacerbated due to the pandemic and multiple lockdowns. CLIQ is a social networking and community app that allows users to connect with like-minded individuals, join interest-based communities, and attend local events. Since launching in 2023, they have grown to over 100,000 users globally and raised more than £500K through crowdfunding.
Since that first lunch, I've loved watching Nicola's star rise as she seemingly is absolutely everywhere — hosting events, promoting CLIQ, and building a genuine community around her community app. A bit meta, but I'm here for it!
Most recently Nicola joined us as a speaker at Unstoppable Founders Summit, sharing her experience as a female founder both fundraising from investors as well as going the alternative funding route with a crowdfund raise for CLIQ. She's refreshingly transparent about the challenges female founders face in securing venture capital.
When you speak with Nicola, it’s quite clear that she is a founder who isn't just building a company, she's building a community and spaces for people to belong and build genuine in-person connections. And that, to me, is the kind of impact I think we need more of in this world.
You can watch the recordings from Nicola’s session on Alternative Forms of Capital from Unstoppable Founders Summit here.
Check out CLIQ - you can download it here!
📣 #TheRant
You need more traction!
We've all been there. The pitch went well (so you thought), the investor seemed engaged, nodding along as you walked through your deck. Then comes the response: "This is interesting, but you need more traction."
What does that actually mean? And more importantly, what should you do about it?
This was one of multiple topics of conversation this week in the Unstoppable Founders WhatsApp Chat as several members commented they’d each received this feedback from investors recently. So let’s break it down! What’s really behind the phrase, ‘You need more traction’?
The Gender Bias
First, data consistently shows that feedback directly related to needing more traction isn't distributed equally. Research has shown that female founders frequently face additional scrutiny while fundraising with investors more likely to focus on potential risks or demand more proof of concept before investing. Male founders, by comparison, are often funded based on potential and vision alone. (Adam Neumann anyone?)
Female founders receive just a fraction of venture funding compared to their male counterparts, and the bar for what constitutes "enough traction" seems to mysteriously rise when women are pitching. It's not just about the metrics—it's about how investors perceive risk and potential.
A Convenient Non-Rejection
"You need more traction" is very often a "convenient non-rejection." Rather than being straightforward and direct saying "no," they give ambiguous feedback that:
Doesn't completely close the door (allowing the investor to keep their options open)
Shifts responsibility to the founder ("it's not that your idea isn't good, it's just not validated enough yet")
Leaves you in limbo without actionable feedback
Essentially ‘You need more traction’ is the fundraising equivalent of "it's not you, it's me" in dating terms.
The vagueness is particularly insidious because it creates a moving target. Without specifics, how are you supposed to know when you've achieved "enough" traction? Who knows, next quarter's numbers might still not be enough, and the goalposts can keep shifting indefinitely.
The Opportunity
So what should you do if you get hit with the feedback that you need more traction? Ask for specifics! For example, ask the investor, "What specific metrics would demonstrate sufficient traction for you to invest?"
Their answer will tell you everything you need to know:
If they provide clear, specific benchmarks (e.g. "I'd want to see €50K MRR with a 15% month-over-month growth rate"), they might genuinely be interested but not ready yet. Add them to your investor update list and circle back when you’re getting close to hitting those numbers.
If their answer remains vague or they avoid the question completely, you've likely received a soft "no." Thank them for their time and move on. Your time is finite, you should be spending it pursuing investors who show genuine interest, not time wasters.
If they can't articulate what sufficient traction looks like for your specific business model or industry, consider whether they'd be a valuable partner even if they did invest.
Next time when you’re fundraising and you hear the phrase "you need more traction," recognize it for what it often is: an easy out for investors who aren't ready to say yes but don't want to definitively say no. Because it isn't necessarily getting more traction—it's finding the investors who recognize the traction you already have as sufficient proof of your potential.
Have you received the "more traction" feedback during your fundraising journey? How did you respond? Join the conversation inside the Unstoppable Founders Community Hub.
💰#HypeCorner
This is where we cover funding rounds raised by female founders and their teams across Europe. With less than 2% of VC funding going to female led startups, the HypeCorner is simply our way of congratulating and celebrating these founders!
🇬🇧 Olivia Borgue Co-founder & Director of Engineering of Exobiosphere
🇮🇸 Iris E. Gisladottir Co-founder of Evolytes
🇩🇪 Anna Bojic Co-founder of Miss Moneypenny technologies
🇬🇧 Alexandra Thurstan Co-founder of Different Dog
🇬🇧 Kinga Matuła Co-founder & CEO of QurieGen
🇪🇪 Kätlin Kaare Co-founder of Up Catalyst
🇳🇱 Ambre Eppler Co-founder of NOWOS
🇬🇧 Rita Kastrati Co-founder & CEO of Pioneering People
Huge congratulations to these founders and their teams. Wishing you all continued success!
🎤 Events for founders
🇲🇹 {Malta} April 24-25 EU Startup Summit showcasing many of Europe’s hottest startups, coming together to learn from some of the most successful European entrepreneurs of our time.
🇦🇹 {Vienna} FFX {formerly LTST25} hosted by Female Founders is back May 8th & 9th and this years theme is ‘The Real Deal for Founders’ Early bird tickets on sale now! Grab your tickets now!
🇬🇧 {London} SXSW lands in London June 2nd - 7th taking over the city merging creativity, culture and technology. SXSW London are now taking applications for musicians, film makers and speakers!
🇪🇸 {Madrid} South Summit Madrid - June 4th - 6th brings together global innovators, bold entrepreneurs, leading corporations, and visionary investors. Early bird tickets now available.
🇫🇷 {Paris} VivaTech - June 11-14th- is the world's rendezvous for startups and leaders to celebrate innovation. It's a gathering of the world's brightest minds, talents, and products.
🇳🇱 {Amsterdam} European Women in Technology is a must for your calendar, happening June 25th & 26th. 5,000+ women in tech, diversity advocates, allies and change makers for Leading the Digital Revolution!
🇬🇧 {London} Sifted Summit is back 8th & 9th of October, bringing together 3,000 founders, startup and scaleup operators and investors to celebrate the resilience of the ecosystem and how its leading players are preparing for the long-haul.
🇫🇷 {Paris} UnlockVC (formerly WVCE) is hosting its annual Summit from the 13th - 15th of October. This event brings together ambitious investors, trailblazing thought leaders, and industry pioneers for two impactful days of networking, learning, and growth.
Thanks again for subscribing to the Unstoppable Founders newsletter. As a thank you, I’m offering readers the opportunity to become a Founding Member of the Unstoppable Founders Community Hub. We only have a limited number before we hit pause on applications! This hub is exclusively curated for female founders building high growth startups; a curated investor database, workshops, resources, investment tools and more!
☀️ Have a wonderful weekend! ☀️
Jen