Traction is agencies who care
Traction is proof that an agency outside your team wants what you're building. Early on it comes as paying agencies, paid pilots, a design partner agency using the product every week, or a signed letter of intent from an agency owner.
Measure what agencies feel
The strongest numbers connect to an agency's biggest worry: staffing. Days from application to first shift, caregivers hired through your tool, shifts filled, and how many caregivers are still working 90 days later.
Pick one or two of these and track them the same way every month.
Be specific
"Agencies love it" is hard to weigh. "Two Atlanta agencies use it weekly; one has hired its last eight caregivers through it and signed on to pay monthly" is easy to believe and easy to build on.
Name the agency type, the commitment and when it started.
Honesty wins
Label what's signed versus what's in discussion. Agency owners talk to each other, and clear, accurate claims build the trust that turns one pilot into a whole neighborhood of customers.