Welcome to my GTM guide for AI founders. Traditional playbooks weren't built for the speed and nuance of AI. This framework is your strategic co-pilot, designed to help you navigate the 25 primary GTM channels. It is my attempt to modernize the Traction framework devised by Gabriel Weinberg and Justin Mares in 2015. I also took from my experience as a Strategic Startups Customer Engineer at Google these last 5 years.
Bullseye Framework 101 This table isn't just a menu; it's a component of a dynamic process. The goal is to find your single most effective channel and focus on it. Think of this as an iterative process, just like product development. You are searching for product-channel fit.
- Step 1: Brainstorm (The Outer Ring): Go through all 25 channels. Brainstorm at least one reasonable, concrete idea for how your startup could use each one. This prevents premature optimization and opens your mind to non-obvious possibilities.
- Step 2: Test (The Middle Ring): Select your 3-5 most promising channels from your brainstorm. Run cheap, fast, and measurable tests on each one to get real-world data. Don't rely on gut feelings alone.
- Step 3: Focus (The Bullseye): Identify the single channel from your tests that shows the most promise. This is your bullseye. Direct all your energy, resources, and creativity into optimizing this channel until you have saturated it.
How to Use This Playbook: As a founder, your resources are finite. This guide is structured to mirror your decision-making process.
- Review the Table of Contents: Get a high-level overview of the GTM categories and channels.
- Jump to a Category: Use the links to navigate to a relevant section.
- Analyze Channels: Within each category, review the individual channels. Use the filters (
Best For,Effort,Cost) to prioritize what's relevant for you right now. - Get Inspired: Look at the
Examplesand the How They Used It blurb to see who is winning with each channel.
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A Note on Frameworks: This playbook is heavily inspired by the Bullseye Framework from Gabriel Weinberg and Justin Mares' seminal book, Traction. While their framework is a timeless starting point for any startup, this guide adapts and extends it specifically for the unique challenges and opportunities of building in the fast-paced world of AI. We've updated the channels and added an AI-specific lens to the strategies.
- Community & Product
- Content & Brand
- Paid Acquisition
- Targeted Acquisition
- Ecosystem & Partnerships
- Physical & High-Touch
| Channel | Description | Best For | Effort | Cost | Key Metrics | Trap to Avoid | Tools | Logo | Example | How They Used It |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Product-Led Growth (PLG) | The product itself drives user acquisition through a compelling free tier or self-service trial. | All (esp. B2B, DevTool) | High | Medium | Activation Rate, Free-to-Paid % | Giving away too much value in the free tier, leaving no compelling reason to upgrade. | Pendo, Amplitude | |
Perplexity AI | Offered a powerful, free search product that became an indispensable utility, driving users to their paid "Pro" tier. |
| Community-Led Growth | Fosters a vibrant community (e.g., on Discord) that becomes the primary engine for feedback, support, and organic growth. | DevTool, B2C | Medium | Low | Active Members (DAU/MAU), Contributions | Treating the community like a broadcast channel. It's a two-way street; listen more than you talk. | Discord, Slack | |
LangChain | Built one of the most active Discord servers in AI, making it the central hub for developers to learn and get help. |
| Waitlist Hype | Builds massive anticipation and an initial user base before launch through an exclusive, often viral, waitlist. | B2C, DevTool | High | Medium | Waitlist Velocity, Social Mentions | A buggy or underwhelming launch day experience that destroys all the pre-built anticipation. | Viral Loops, Typeform | |
Robinhood | Built a waitlist of nearly 1 million users by gamifying referrals, letting users move up the line for early access. |
| Engineering as Marketing | Builds free tools and open-source models that solve problems for developers, creating a funnel to paid products. | DevTool, B2B | Medium | Low | # of Stars/Forks, # of API calls | Building a cool tool that doesn't solve a painful, validated problem for your target audience. | GitHub, Vercel | |
Together AI | Released high-quality open-source models and an inference stack, establishing credibility and attracting developers to their paid API. |
| Viral Marketing | Designs the product where performance or output is so impressive users are compelled to share it, creating organic buzz. | DevTool, B2B, B2C | Medium | Low | Demo Shares, Social Mentions | Confusing a one-time viral spike with a sustainable, product-driven growth loop. | X, Built-in Demos | |
Groq | Their public demo showcasing mind-blowing inference speed went viral on X, generating massive developer interest overnight. |
| Viral Loops | Builds self-perpetuating mechanisms into the product, such as referral bonuses or collaborative features. | B2C, B2B | Medium | Low | Referral Invites Sent, New Users | Asking for a referral before the user has experienced the core "aha!" moment of your product. | ReferralCandy, PartnerStack | |
Gamma | Offered users extra credits for referring new users, creating a simple, effective incentive loop to drive growth. |
| Channel | Description | Best For | Effort | Cost | Key Metrics | Trap to Avoid | Tools | Logo | Example | How They Used It |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Search Engine Optimization (SEO) | Creates authoritative content optimized to be a primary source for AI-powered search engines and LLMs. | All | Medium | Low | Organic Traffic, High-Intent Keywords | Chasing high-volume vanity keywords instead of high-intent keywords that signal a problem. | Ahrefs, SEMrush | |
Jasper | Dominated early search results for "AI writer" and related keywords, capturing massive inbound interest. |
| Content Marketing | Educates the market with high-quality documentation, research, blog posts, and case studies. | All | Medium | Low | Signups from Content, Time on Page | Writing about your product features instead of your customers' problems and solutions. | Notion, Ghost | |
Google DeepMind | Publishes industry-leading research papers and technical blogs, establishing themselves as the authority in AI research. |
| Short-Form Video & Audio | Uses TikTok, Reels, etc. to capture attention with "building in public" content, demos, and thought leadership. | B2C, B2B | Medium | Low | Views & Engagement, Website Clicks | Trying to go viral with trends instead of creating genuinely helpful or impressive content. | TikTok, Descript | |
Blotato | The founder authentically documents the startup journey on TikTok and X, building a loyal following. |
| Public Relations (PR) | Shapes the public narrative and establishes executives as thought leaders on key AI trends and ethics. | B2B, B2C | Medium | High | High-Authority Backlinks, Share of Voice | Paying a costly PR agency before you have a clear, compelling story to tell. | Muck Rack, Cision | |
Anthropic | Positioned themselves as the safety-conscious AI research lab, creating a strong brand narrative in the media. |
| Unconventional PR | Executes memorable "intelligence stunts" or creative drops that generate massive organic buzz and media coverage. | B2C, B2B, DevTool | High | Medium | Media Mentions, Social Buzz, # of Participants | Executing a stunt that is clever but doesn't clearly communicate your product's core value. | Creative strategy | |
Bolt | Organized the 'largest AI hackathon ever,' a massive event that attracted thousands of developers and instantly established them as a key player. |
| Speaking Engagements | Establishes thought leadership by securing speaking slots at key industry conferences to share unique insights. | B2B, DevTool | Medium | Medium | Leads from Event, Audience Questions | Giving a sales pitch on stage. Instead, teach something valuable and earn the audience's trust. | PaperCall.io | |
LangChain | The founder, Harrison Chase, is a constant presence at AI events, making him the face of the LLM developer movement. |
| Channel | Description | Best For | Effort | Cost | Key Metrics | Trap to Avoid | Tools | Logo | Example | How They Used It |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Search Engine Marketing (SEM) | Captures existing intent by targeting users actively searching for solutions on platforms like Google. | B2B, B2C | Medium | High | CAC, LTV, ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) | Scaling ad spend before you have a clear understanding of your ideal customer and unit economics. | Google Ads | |
Writesonic | Bids on high-intent keywords like "AI content generator," directly competing for customers against Jasper and others. |
| Social & Display Ads | Creates new demand by targeting users based on interests and profiles, interrupting their feed to build awareness. | B2C, B2B | Medium | High | Cost per Lead (CPL), CTR | Targeting a broad audience instead of obsessively narrowing down to a niche that feels the pain. | Meta/LinkedIn Ads | |
Copy.ai | Runs targeted ads to writers, marketers, and founders on platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn. |
| Channel | Description | Best For | Effort | Cost | Key Metrics | Trap to Avoid | Tools | Logo | Example | How They Used It |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | Augments the sales team with AI tools for lead scoring, personalized outreach, and real-time insights. | B2B | High | High | ACV (Annual Contract Value), Win Rate | Hiring a sales team before you, the founder, have personally closed the first 10-15 deals. | Salesforce, Gong | |
Glean | Deploys a sophisticated enterprise sales team to sell their high-ACV AI search product to large companies. |
| Email Marketing | Uses AI to automate and personalize email campaigns based on user behavior, optimizing content and send times. | All | Low | Low | Open Rate, Click-Through Rate | Sending generic marketing blasts instead of behavior-triggered, personalized emails. | Customer.io | |
Rewind AI | Masterfully used email to nurture their massive waitlist, keeping users engaged until launch day. |
| Targeting Blogs | Uses AI to identify and personalize outreach to niche blogs and newsletters with highly engaged, relevant audiences. | All | Medium | Low | Response Rate, # of Demos/Signups | Sending a generic, templated outreach email. Personalize every single one. | BuzzSumo, Hunter | |
beehiiv | Grew by targeting Substack writers and influential creators, convincing them to switch platforms. |
| Channel | Description | Best For | Effort | Cost | Key Metrics | Trap to Avoid | Tools | Logo | Example | How They Used It |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud Marketplaces | Integrates with AWS, Azure, or GCP marketplaces to simplify procurement and billing for enterprise customers. | B2B | High | Medium | Revenue from Marketplace, Deployments | Underestimating the technical and security requirements needed to get listed and stay current. | AWS Marketplace | |
Pinecone | Is listed on AWS & GCP, making it frictionless for enterprises to purchase and deploy their vector database. |
| Influencer & Creator Ecosystems | Partners with tech influencers on platforms like YouTube to produce authentic tutorials and reviews for niche audiences. | DevTool, B2C | Medium | Medium | Referral Traffic, Direct Conversions | Dictating the creative to an influencer. Trust them to know their audience and give them freedom. | Grin, Upfluence | |
Runway | Empowered AI artists and video creators to showcase the platform's power, turning them into evangelists. |
| Business Development | Forges strategic alliances with companies that offer complementary technologies or have access to large user bases. | B2B | High | Medium | # of Qualified Leads from Partners | Seeking partnerships with large companies too early. Focus on partners your own size first. | Crossbeam | |
Mistral AI | Secured a key strategic partnership with Microsoft Azure for massive distribution and enterprise credibility. |
| Affiliate Programs | Incentivizes developers and creators in the AI ecosystem to refer new customers through a commission-based structure. | B2C, B2B | Medium | Medium | # of Active Affiliates, Revenue/Affiliate | Launching a program and expecting affiliates to show up. You need to actively recruit them. | PartnerStack | |
AssemblyAI | Offers a partner program for developers who build applications on top of their speech-to-text API. |
| Existing Platforms | Builds apps and integrations for platforms where users already work, like Slack, Figma, or VS Code. | All | High | Low | # of Installs/Integrations, Active Users | Building a shallow integration. A great integration feels like a native part of the host platform. | Postman, SDKs | |
Ollama | Integrates seamlessly with tools like Docker and has a popular VS Code extension, meeting developers where they are. |
| Channel | Description | Best For | Effort | Cost | Key Metrics | Trap to Avoid | Tools | Logo | Example | How They Used It |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trade Shows | Offers high-touch, interactive experiences at industry events with live AI demos, workshops, and hackathons. | B2B | High | High | # of Qualified Booth Leads, Cost per Lead | Just scanning badges. Your only goal should be to book qualified meetings for the following week. | Bizzabo, Cvent | |
Together AI | Maintains a significant presence at major AI and developer conferences to engage with high-value enterprise customers. |
| Offline Events | Fosters a strong local community by hosting or sponsoring meetups, workshops, and hackathons for direct user engagement. | DevTool, B2B | Medium | Low | # of Attendees, Quality of Conversations | Hosting an event without a clear goal. Is it for recruiting, user feedback, or lead generation? | Luma, Meetup | |
Luma | As a tool for events, they "dogfood" their own product, hosting and sponsoring events to build their community. |
| Offline Ads | Bridges the physical and digital worlds by using offline media to drive traffic to an interactive AI-powered experience. | B2C, B2B | Low | High | Direct Traffic from URL/QR, Brand Recall | Spending money on offline ads without a clear, measurable call to action. | QR Code Gen | |
Scale AI | Runs hyper-targeted billboard campaigns in airports (like SFO) to reach tech executives and VCs—their ideal enterprise customers. |
Find a channel missing? Have a better example? Disagree with a take? I'd love to hear from you.
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