Assertion Partly supported AI assessment confidence: 95% certainty 4/5 debate potential 2/5

Sean Ellis coined the term 'growth hacker' while at Dropbox

Matt Lerner · 20 VC 082: 500 Startups Week: Growth Hacking 101: How To 10x Your Conversion with Matt Lerner, Head of Distro Dojo London · Oct 26, 2015 · at 21:08

Matt Lerner, Head of Distro Dojo London at 500 Startups, explains the origin of the term 'growth hacker' while citing industry pioneers.

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“Sean Ellis invented the term when he worked at Dropbox”

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The claim, plainly

Sean Ellis coined the term 'growth hacker' while working at Dropbox.

a quote alone can be ambiguous, so this restates it with the references and context of the conversation around it resolved. AI-written; the tape below the player is the source.

Assessment

Sean Ellis did coin the term 'growth hacker', first publishing it in his July 26, 2010 blog post 'Find a Growth Hacker for Your Startup'. However, documentary evidence shows he was not employed at Dropbox at the time. His interim role at Dropbox took place in 2008–2009, and his July 2010 post explicitly listed Dropbox as a previous role. Thus, while he originated the term, he did not do so while working at Dropbox.

July 26, 2010 blog post 'Find a Growth Hacker for Your Startup' on startup-marketing.com, where Sean Ellis coined the term while listing Dropbox as a previous role.
Sean Ellis served as Dropbox's interim head of growth in 2008–2009, ending his engagement long before July 2010.

Checked against

[1] startup-marketing.com [2] startup-marketing.com [3] startup-marketing.com [4] gopractice.io [5] flyoverlabs.io [6] buckfiftymba.com [7] intercom.com [8] robertkatai.com

assessed as of 2026-07-23

This assessment is an AI reading of a public statement, made against the cited references with the confidence shown. It can be wrong. The quote, the tape and the references are all on this page; if something is off, use report an error below. full disclaimer →

Mentioned

Dropbox Sean Ellis

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Sean Ellis coined the term 'growth hacker' while at Dropbox

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