As an entrepreneur, chances are you will look for funding from investors at some point while growing your startup.

Pitching your company to investors can be a humbling experience for the entrepreneur. As a founder, you are passionate about your product and believe in the future growth potential for your company. Investors however, are skeptical and look to poke holes in the business.

You can’t blame an investor for not being interested in your business. There are many reasons why an investor may choose to pass on your company. The thing that is frustrating is when you get feedback from an investor that makes it obvious that they don’t understand your business.

I’m ok with an investor saying no, but at least know what you’re saying no to. Maybe it’s the entrepreneur’s fault for not being clear enough about how their company solves a critical problem in the market. Or maybe it’s the fault of the investor for not taking the time to understand the business. What I’ve learned is that it doesn’t matter.

There is only one thing that matters and that is traction.

If you have paying customers, then obviously they find value in your product. Customer traction trumps everything! It’s hard to argue with your paying customers.

The more customers, the more credibility your company has and the less you have to explain to a potential investor. At some point, if the investor still doesn’t understand your business even after you have shown legitimate traction, then you probably don’t want to be working with that investor anyway and you should look at it as them doing you a favor for not wasting any more of your time.