Evidence of traction shares the highest weight in Proof of Usefulness scoring — tied at 25% with real-world utility — for a specific reason: it is the mechanism by which subjective assessment becomes objective fact.
Any project can assert that it solves an important problem well. Founders are not lying when they make these claims. They believe them. The problem is that belief and reality are not the same thing, and the history of failed projects is littered with founders who believed deeply in the utility of products that users never actually adopted.
Traction is the market’s verdict. It converts conviction into evidence. Either people use your solution or they do not.
