Don’t Practice What You Don’t Know: How Startups Waste Time Without Knowing It
Introduction
In the latest episode of Zero to Traction, Josh David Miller (JDM) and Cameron Law unpack a subtle but critical trap many startup founders fall into: working hard on the wrong things. They call it the "don’t practice what you don’t know" dilemma, a riff on the startup tendency to put in reps before mastering the right movement.
This episode is both a philosophical nudge and a tactical framework for founders who feel busy but stagnant—those logging hours without building real momentum.
The Productivity Illusion: Busy but Nowhere New
Startups idolize action. Hustle is glorified. But JDM and Cameron argue: motion isn’t the same as progress. A founder might be grinding through their to-do list, but if those tasks don’t target the startup’s biggest risks, they’re simply moving nowhere fast.
JDM puts it clearly: “Founders often make progress on tasks, not progress on the business.”
Cameron likens this to marathon training: you can run every day, but if you're not training your aerobic system intentionally, you won’t hit your goals—and might even burn out.
Momentum vs. Movement
Momentum is what matters in a startup, not just movement. And momentum requires direction.
The co-hosts encourage founders to:
Identify the most critical unknowns in their business
Design lightweight experiments to answer them
Write down their goals, risks, and hypotheses
In other words: practice only when you know what you’re testing. And don’t confuse motion for mastery.
Your Business Model Is the Product
Pulling from Ash Maurya’s famous quote, Cameron reminds founders: "Your business model is your product." That means the true product isn’t the app or the service—it’s the entire engine of value creation and capture.
When founders get obsessed with perfecting a solution before proving who the customer is, what problem they’re solving, or whether they can repeatably acquire those customers, they’re building without validation.
The Real Risk? It’s Not What You Think
Founders often assume their riskiest task is building the solution. But JDM flips that:
"Focusing on the solution assumes every other risky thing is already true."
Instead, he says, founders should target assumptions like:
Is this a large, growing market?
Are people experiencing this problem with urgency?
Will they pay for a solution?
Do they want it delivered this way?
Assuming those without testing is a recipe for expensive pivots—or failure.
Systems, Not Bureaucracy
While some founders resist writing down their experiments (it feels slow, bureaucratic, or overly formal), the hosts argue that a lightweight system is the fastest way to learn:
"What you write down is what you test. What you test is what you learn. And what you learn is what you can improve."
The Traction Lab uses a simple system: define milestones, outline key decision points, and log experiments that produce evidence.
This isn’t about slowing down. It’s about speeding up the right way.
Write It Down or Risk Fooling Yourself
Many founders say, "We’re running experiments," but JDM challenges them:
"If you didn’t define success in advance, it wasn’t an experiment."
Running an Instagram ad isn’t an experiment. Asking, "Can we acquire leads under $2 per click with this offer?" is.
Intentionality means defining what success looks like, then testing against it.
Why This Matters for Fundraising
All of this intentional experimentation builds narrative capital for fundraising.
Cameron points out:
"If you can articulate the experiments you ran, what you learned, and how that shaped your business, you build credibility."
Investors don’t just want traction—they want to see you earned it through a repeatable system.
Final Thoughts: Move Fast in the Right Direction
The biggest myth in startup culture is that speed alone wins. But as JDM concludes:
"What you're doing now feels fast, but you're going nowhere in a hurry. We want you to go somewhere fast."
Action without direction is waste. Direction without action is paralysis. But intentional, evidence-driven action? That’s how you build a company that lasts.
Listen to the full episode of Zero to Traction for more hard-earned insights from founders who've been there.
About Josh David Miller
Over the past decade, Josh David Miller has empowered over 100 startup founders and innovators to launch and scale their ventures. As the driving force behind the Traction Lab Venture Accelerator,
Josh specializes in guiding early-stage startups through the intricate journey from ideation to product-market fit. His expertise lies in transforming innovative concepts into viable, market-ready solutions, ensuring entrepreneurs navigate the challenges of the startup ecosystem with confidence and strategic insight.
About Cameron R. Law
Cameron R. Law is a Sacramento native dedicated to building community, growing ecosystems, and empowering entrepreneurs.
As the Executive Director of the Carlsen Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship at California State University, Sacramento, he leverages his passion for the region to foster innovation and support emerging ventures. Through his leadership, Cameron plays a pivotal role in shaping Sacramento's entrepreneurial landscape, ensuring that innovators and builders have the resources and support they need to succeed.
