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growth & revenue are ways to show "traction" -- a buzzwordy way to measure meaningful progress.

For an R&D based startup working on Fusion, that progress would be measured differently.

Many businesses have Key Performance Indicators (KPI's). Startups should be no different.

And YC probably doesn't see many of those...

I've seen meaningful progress metrics in R&D-stage companies working on fusion, synthetic bio, AI, rockets, and more. I think they're especially important in R&D companies, because it's so easy to go off into the weeds or solve the wrong problems.

You just have to spend a lot longer in phase 1 (or pre phase 1) where you're trying to make something people want. Once you've built that tech you still want to sell it and to have growth right?

at the very least, you can get LOIs or POCs