Coined growth hacking; ran growth at Dropbox and Eventbrite
Sean Ellis coined the term growth hacking, was head of growth at Dropbox and Eventbrite, and wrote Hacking Growth. His best-known tool is the Sean Ellis test, which asks users how they would feel if they could no longer use the product. If 40% or more say very disappointed, he reads it as a leading indicator of product market fit. Only then does he work on acquisition, which he calls almost the last step.
Lenny's Podcast 01:02 01:25 03:30 06:26 26:18
Research
Ask active users how they'd feel without you. 40% 'very disappointed' is the leading indicator of fit.
It's a simple question that helps you figure out: does anyone consider your product a must have, ideally who and how many people consider it. Ultimately it's trying to figure out, is your product a must have, which could be equated to having product market fit.
Sean Ellis
trusts a single survey question put to active users, how would you feel if you could no longer use this, and reads 40 percent answering very disappointed as the fit signal. One number you can run this week and compare against the last time you ran it.
distrusts what people say in a survey and reconstructs what they actually did, interviewing recent switchers to find the push, pull, anxiety and habit that moved them. Stated preference is not behaviour.
Sean Ellis Test / Product-Market Fit Survey
Ask users 'How would you feel if you could no longer use this product?' with options: Very Disappointed, Somewhat Disappointed, Not Disappointed. 40% 'Very Disappointed'…
The original growth hacker reveals his secrets | Sean Ellis
ICE Prioritization Framework
Score each initiative on Impact, Confidence, and Ease to prioritize growth experiments efficiently.
The original growth hacker reveals his secrets | Sean Ellis
40% threshold for 'very disappointed' users indicates product-market fit
The Sean Ellis test asks users how they would feel if they could no longer use the product - 40% saying 'very disappointed' is the leading indicator
The original growth hacker reveals his secrets
If users ask 'how did you find us?', you'll uncover your most effective growth channels
Direct customer feedback reveals what's actually working for acquisition
The original growth hacker reveals his secrets | Sean Ellis
