A guide to growth hacking – from the man who coined the term

Hacking Growth co-author Sean Ellis / Photo credit: Tech in Asia

Aside from being highly successful startups, what do Dropbox and Eventbrite have in common?

For one, both startups “growth hacked” their way to success. Another is that Sean Ellis, the person who coined the term “growth hacking” back in 2010, shaped growth strategies at the two companies.

As Dropbox’s first marketer, Ellis was part of the brains behind the firm’s breakout referral program. This helped Dropbox climb from just 100,000 registered users in September 2008 to 4 million by December 2009, as well as reach US$1 billion in revenue run rate by January 2017.

Prior to Dropbox, Ellis also helped scale companies like remote-connectivity services provider LogMeIn and event ticketing platform Eventbrite. Since then, he’s co-authored the book Hacking Growth, which has sold close to a million copies globally.

He defines growth hacking as a scientific process of using data and experimentation to drive growth.

“You have to start with that growth mindset that says, ‘Are you doing anything perfectly in your business?'” he said. “And if you’re honest, the answer is no – there’s not a single thing that cannot be improved.”

Here are our key takeaways from Ellis’ fireside chat at a Tech in Asia subscriber event in Singapore on March 11.

1. Experiment, experiment, experiment

For Ellis, experimentation is the “only way” to figure out a better way to do things. But to drive rapid growth, it should be combined with surveying and user testing.

The latter involves studying what value people get from a product, why it’s a must-have, and what experiences make it valuable. After that, it’s all about replicating that same experience to more people, he said.

Once companies achieve this, they can start getting users into a habit of driving referrals, which ultimately unlocks growth – as long as they have found product-market fit. Otherwise, it won’t work, Ellis noted.

“If you don’t have a product that, once people try it, they consider a must-have, getting a lot more [people] to try it is not going to help you,” he said.

2. Implement early

Companies that have grown really quickly in the last 20 years – including ride-hailing and ecommerce platforms – don’t just adopt a growth hacking approach. According to Ellis, 99% of them also implemented the strategy “right in the beginning.”

For him, that’s why it’s “really hard” for large companies like Microsoft to adopt this approach, particularly when compared to a young firm that has less than 100 employees. Beyond their sizes, teams also have an entrenched way of working.

3. The cross-functional piece

4. The Nubank example: power of referrals

5. Evolution of growth hacking