hey friend 👋

I’m JDM (aka Josh David Miller) and I’m a venture scientist — I partner with pre-seed and seed-stage startups to turn assumptions into data, and data into traction. I run design sprints at The Right Box , I’m co-founder of the Traction Lab incubator, and I’m a content creator.

Check out my recent content below, or read more about me .

Upcoming Events

Every week, I host live office hours to help early-stage founders cut through the noise and get real traction. It’s fast, practical, and occasionally a little spicy — and I’m often joined by smart friends who bring their own sharp takes to your startup questions.

• Substack Live AMA

  Tue, Jul 15 @ 09:00 PDT
  Substack currently does not allow scheduling the livestream in advance, but all my followers are notified when I go live — so give me a follow!

• Instagram Live AMA

  Thu, Jul 17 @ 09:00 PDT
  Join me on Instagram Thursdays at 9am PDT to take your startup questions. Join live, or "@" me in advance, and I'll take it live.

• LinkedIn Office Hours

  Fri, Jul 18 @ 12:00 PDT
  Every week, Cameron Law and I go live on the Traction Lab page for a robust "ask us anything" office hours format. It's a lively discussion with a live audience. Come join the fun!

• Substack Live AMA

  Tue, Jul 22 @ 09:00 PDT
  Substack currently does not allow scheduling the livestream in advance, but all my followers are notified when I go live — so give me a follow!

Recent Content

I write two weekly newsletters, co-host a podcast, and create content on LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram and other places — all based around helping first-time founders launch sooner and scale faster with venture science.

These are four of my most recent pieces:

• What a horse show!

  Zero to Traction Podcast · a day ago

  If your pipeline is full of “this looks interesting” and “follow up next quarter,” you’re not forecasting revenue — you’re just LARPing a sales process.

• Want to know why your pitch isn’t working?

  Traction Thinking · 3 days ago

  Start a company like it’s 2025 — with AI as your co-founder.

• 8 tests your pitch won’t pass (yet)

  Founding with AI · 3 days ago

  Your slides are clean. Your vision is bold. But beneath the surface, investors still aren’t buying it. These 8 tests will show you why—and how to fix it before your next investor call.

• Replay: pilot purgatory, defensibility drama, and the gym sock of startup funnels

  Office Hours · 7 days ago

  We're live 3x per week now, and this one was jam-packed with another stack of founder questions — and a few brutal truths.