Sean Ellis
American growth marketer who coined the term growth hacking; led early growth at Dropbox, Eventbrite, LogMeIn and Lookout, and co-wrote Hacking Growth (2017).
Sean Ellis did not write this page.
We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.
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Their wordsWithout a retention plateau, growth will not compound. Eventually all newly acquired users are simply replacing the ones that are churning.
↗Is Product/Market Fit Hiding in Your User Base?seanellis.substack.com 1st of 4 in this piece
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Our reading
What users actually do matters far more than what they say in a product/market fit survey.
Their wordsBut ultimately real user behavior is much more important than what users say in a survey.
↗Is Product/Market Fit Hiding in Your User Base?seanellis.substack.com 2nd of 4 in this piece
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Their wordsI’ve increasingly come to think of product/market fit as something that you search for rather than simply measure.
↗Is Product/Market Fit Hiding in Your User Base?seanellis.substack.com 3rd of 4 in this piece
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Their wordsFor companies scoring above 40% on the PMF survey but struggling to find a plateauing retention cohort, I would therefore consider the survey result encouraging rather than contradictory.
↗Is Product/Market Fit Hiding in Your User Base?seanellis.substack.com 4th of 4 in this piece
- 7 months earlier
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Their wordsOne of the most common mistakes I see startups make is optimizing for efficiency too early. They fixate on CAC ceilings, bid caps, and channel ROI before they have enough evidence that their growth model can actually scale. On paper, this looks disciplined. In practice, it often slows learning so much that the company burns far more money than it saves.
↗In Early-Scale Growth, the Dominant Cost Is Not CAC. It’s Time.seanellis.substack.com
- 3 weeks earlier
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Their wordsI’ve long believed that intent is one of the most powerful forces available to marketers.
- 5 weeks earlier
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Their wordsThe companies winning today are the ones that turn a single wow moment into a repeatable engine of customer acquisition.
↗The Most Powerful Growth Engine in AI: Freemium Fueled Word of Mouthseanellis.substack.com
- 2 months earlier
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Our reading
Product-led growth rarely stands on its own; even the best PLG companies need sales and marketing.
Their wordsDone well, PLG can drive extraordinary efficiency and scale. But it rarely stands on its own.
↗PLG vs. Sales and Marketing: Do You Really Have to Choose?seanellis.substack.com
- 2 months earlier
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Their wordsThe core principles of growth aren’t complicated. But doing them well is rare.
↗Growth Isn’t Complicated. So Why Do So Many Teams Struggle With It?seanellis.substack.com
- 10 months earlier
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Their wordsBut here’s the tough truth: if you’re not retaining those users, none of it matters. Retention is where real, sustainable growth happens
↗Mastering Retention: The Ultimate Lever for Sustainable Growthseanellis.substack.com
- 3 weeks earlier
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Their wordsBut here’s the reality: loops and funnels aren’t competing strategies—they’re complementary tools.
↗Loops vs. Funnels: A Balanced Approach to Sustainable Growthseanellis.substack.com