What Sean Ellis thinks about startups
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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2 dated positions, 2025 to 2026, in their own words. Our reading of what Sean Ellis has said — not written or endorsed by them.
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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
- 8 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