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Ellis: Starting with a deeply passionate niche improves long-term startup survival

Sean Ellis · The original growth hacker reveals his secrets | Sean Ellis (author of “Hacking Growth”) · Sep 5, 2024 · at 35:53

Growth pioneer Sean Ellis explains why startups should prioritize small, intensely loyal customer segments over broader lukewarm audiences.

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“I prefer kind of a more passionate Customer base that's, and work from there just because I think your biggest competition when you're really innovating is, is just like being irrelevant. And so if you're like deeply relevant to anyone, I think that gives you a much better chance of long-term success.”

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