From Yard Work to Startups: Why Your Tools (and Mindset) Matter More Than You Think
We started this week’s Zero to Traction podcast with yard work, and somehow—without much planning (okay, none)—we ended up deep in startup tool misuse, shifting innovation horizons, and a new term we’re coining: procrastivity.
If you’re a founder—or working with one—you know this story: you pick up a tool because someone told you it’s “what entrepreneurs do.” Maybe it’s the Lean Canvas. Maybe it’s a pitch deck. Maybe it’s a customer persona. You fill in the boxes, feel productive, share it with your advisor, get a gold star... and then shelve it. You’ve made progress, right?
Not quite.
Let’s dig in.
There’s a Right Tool for the Job—and a Right Way to Use It
Over the weekend, Cameron was working on his front yard. What started as “let’s clean up the lawn” turned into an archeological dig involving roots, dirt, new sod, and probably some ancient fossils. He quickly realized: every layer required a different tool. Shovel for the surface. Pickaxe for the roots. Rake for the finish.
Startups are no different. Tools like the Lean Canvas or Business Model Canvas are amazing—if you use them correctly. They’re not boxes to check. They’re compasses. Diagnostic kits. Hypothesis generators.
But too many founders treat them like flashcards: create once, then forget.
The Biggest Mistake: Static Thinking in a Dynamic World
Here’s the trap: we do a Lean Canvas in week one of an accelerator. We print it. We post it. We move on. But the canvas isn’t the business. It’s our best guess—a snapshot of risky assumptions we need to test.
And that word—assumption—is everything. Startups exist in fast-moving, unpredictable markets. The old-school strategic planning model (think 20-year corporate roadmaps) worked when the horizon was 50 years out. Today, thanks to technology, that horizon might be 6 months... or 6 weeks.
You’re not building a castle. You’re building a surfboard on waves that shift daily. Don’t plan for the next 10 years. Learn what matters now.
Your Pitch Is Not Your Business (and Neither Is Your Canvas)
JDM dropped a line that bears repeating: “If you’re not getting data from the market, you’re wasting your time.”
Let’s say that again.
If you’re designing a persona in isolation—i.e., “our customer is someone who wants exactly what we built”—you’re reverse-engineering. You’re baking your own biases into your market research. It’s comforting, but it’s fiction.
Instead, step into your customer’s world. Not what they want from your product, but what they want from life. Are you solving their top 3 problems—or #8, #9, and #10? Urgency matters more than interest.
Persona ≠ Profile. It’s About Context.
One of the biggest misuses of tools we see? Shallow personas. Founders list attributes, sprinkle in some age and income stats, and call it a day. But great personas tell you where your customer hangs out, what motivates them, and why your solution fits into their bigger story.
Your customers don’t think about your product 24/7. They think about their lives. If your messaging, onboarding, or value proposition doesn’t align with that context, your product becomes invisible.
Procrastivity: When Startup Work Feels Productive but Isn’t
Here’s a term we’re coining: procrastivity—stuff that feels productive but actually delays the only thing that matters: real-world learning.
Example: spending hours making a beautiful pitch deck before talking to a single customer.
Instead: set a hypothesis. Identify your riskiest assumption. Find the leanest way to test it. Talk to 10 people. Come back. Revise. Rinse. Repeat.
One metric we love for this: Time to Customer—how long it takes from idea in your head to interaction with a real customer. Hint: In the early days, this should be measured in hours, not weeks.
The Toolkit Is Only as Good as the Carpenter
Tools don’t build companies. Founders do. The tools are there to help us test assumptions, extract learnings, and evolve our models.
That’s why we built programs like the Startup Challenge and the Toolkit Series—to not just teach tools, but build the behavior of continuous learning.
Every startup is an experiment. Every tool you use should serve a question you're trying to answer.
In Closing: Don’t Just Learn—Build
We closed the episode with a moment of real talk.
There are founders who come to learn—and that’s great at the right stage. But when you're building, you can’t treat tools like homework. You have to commit to the uncomfortable work of validating, invalidating, and starting over. And over. And over again.
And if you're facilitating or mentoring? You know the pain. The uncoachable founder. The well-meaning but not-yet-ready participant. It’s a challenge—but a necessary one. The best programs, like the best founders, are intentional about where they put their energy.
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.
