Build traction, grow faster, and get fundable.
The work between a promising startup and a fundable company
Traction
Growth
Fundraising
Programs for founders building real momentum
For Sacramento pre-seed and seed companies
Investment Readiness Engine
For early founders building first traction
Traction Lab Venture School
Programs and partners already moving customers, capital, and outcomes
Equity investment into portfolio companies.
Portfolio outcomes produced in 2025.
Non-dilutive funding accessed by supported companies.
Collective new annual recurring revenue generated by portfolio companies.
companies.
strategic partners and investors.
Partners helping founders build traction and readiness
For 10 years, the City of Sacramento has supported entrepreneurship and innovation through their Innovation Grant program.
Sponsor of our Investment Readiness Engine.
CalOSBA's Accelerate California Innovation Hubs incubate businesses through capital access, resource networks, and subject matter expertise.
Sponsor of our CXO program.
A leading, full-service international law firm with a heavy focus on the intersection of technology innovation, energy, financial services, and real estate & construction.
Provides mentorship on capital readiness.
Housed at Sacramento State University, the Center serves as a regional hub and platform for entrepreneurial education, community, and support.
Partner in program delivery.
Helps seed and Series A stage startups and corporate innovators discover, define, and test winning go-to-market and business model strategies, using design sprints and traction thinking.
Partner in program delivery
Builds and strengthens the early-stage investment ecosystem in Sacramento by educating new angel investors, empowering promising startups, and bridging capital, talent, and innovation.
Provides investor education.
What founders say
Whenever I felt stuck, being able to have experienced mentorship guide me out of my rut was very helpful.
Founder
Seed-stage SaaS startup
Without the team from The Traction Lab, our product wouldn't exist, or at least, it wouldn't be very good.
Founder
GovTech startup
Useful signal for founders doing the work
May 18, 2026
Are you pivoting or just stacking assumptions?
Listen now | You’re not pivoting — you’re stacking assumptions and hoping one lands. There are really only three things you can change in a pivot, and mixing all of them at once is how startups disappear.
Listen now →
May 14, 2026
Stop counting yeses. Start counting commitments.
Enthusiasm is free. Intent costs something. Here's how to tell which one you're measuring.
Read article →
Apr 27, 2026
Naming the feature, not the job: 'sounds useful' isn't a buying signal
This week in The Pivot: pitching what your product does while your best prospects nod politely and never buy. The fix is a three-question chain that finds what they're actually paying for.
Read article →