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Cohen: Acquisition channels eventually sag downward rather than plateauing

Jason Cohen · The surprising advice from a founder who built 2 unicorns | Jason Cohen (WP Engine) · Jan 25, 2026 · at 1:08:21

WP Engine founder Jason Cohen discusses why marketing channels experience diminishing returns over time, describing what he terms the 'Elephant Curve.'

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“What happens is it starts with an S curve and then starts sagging. It's butt starts sagging down. So I wrote an article about this called the elephant curve, which is what I named it.”

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