# Founder Channel Selection Matrix

Canonical page: https://waitlist.crany.ai/marketing-templates/founder-channel-selection-matrix

By Tangenix. Published 2026-10-24. Category: Founder acquisition.

Choose a first acquisition route by audience task evidence, permission, available effort and a concrete learning question instead of popularity.

## Task

Allocate limited founder effort to an appropriate reachable acquisition route.

## When to use

Use this when several channels sound attractive but you can only execute one well. Compare observed audience behavior and what you can deliver through each route.

## Choose another approach when

You want a universal best channel, would need to violate local rules, or are ranking channels with invented conversion rates and search volumes.

## Inputs

- Evidence of where relevant people ask about or complete the target task.
- The current rules and appropriate participation format for each route.
- Founder capacity, available assets and a meaningful outcome to observe.

## Template

    Audience task: [specific job]
    Route A / Route B / Route C: [real options]
    For each route record:
    - audience-task evidence and source date
    - allowed contribution or contact format
    - useful offer or asset we can actually provide
    - preparation and follow-through hours
    - outcome observable without intrusive tracking
    - uncertainty and reason the route may not fit
    Chosen route and rejected alternatives: [reason]
    First bounded action and owner: [record]
    Review after: [evidence window or completed activity]
    No channel success rate is assumed.

## Illustrative example

This is not a Crany customer result. Replace example details with verified facts.

    Fictional handoff founder compares an existing professional community, a broad social feed and an introduction from a willing colleague.
    The community has relevant task questions but permits promotion only in a designated thread. The broad feed has no observed audience fit. The introduction could support one relevant voluntary conversation.
    The founder chooses the introduction for immediate learning and prepares a standalone resource for the community’s allowed format. Neither route is labeled inherently superior for every software product.

## How to use

1. Collect actual audience-task evidence and verify participation boundaries.
2. Compare the useful contribution and total founder effort each route requires.
3. Choose a bounded action and review observed outcomes before increasing allocation.

## Checks

- Audience evidence is stronger than the founder’s personal platform preference.
- Permission and local rules are reviewed before activity.
- Unknown reach and conversion rates remain unknown.

## What to measure

Track actual preparation, conversations or task attempts and follow-through effort by route. A small successful interaction supports further investigation, not a claim that the channel will scale.

## Research and sources

The founder essay supports direct early-user learning, while Reddit guidance illustrates participation boundaries. The comparison matrix is original and does not endorse a particular platform or predict its returns.

- [Paul Graham: Do Things That Do Not Scale](https://www.paulgraham.com/ds.html) — checked 2026-10-24. Historical founder essay on manual recruitment and learning from early users; not a universal acquisition benchmark.
- [Reddit: Reddiquette](https://support.reddithelp.com/hc/en-us/articles/205926439-Reddiquette) — checked 2026-10-23. Read community rules, contribute relevant original information and avoid vote solicitation; local rules still apply.

Prepared with AI assistance. Sources support the stated principles; they do not endorse Crany or guarantee performance.

## About Crany

Crany is an AI marketing co-founder in development for software founders and vibe coders. It is designed to strategize, execute approved marketing and improve based on results. These free resources are usable independently of app access. The public waitlist is at https://waitlist.crany.ai/.