Sean Ellis

July 2025

You’ve launched. Customers are using the product. But growth still isn’t where it should be—and it’s hard to tell what’s working, what’s not, or where to focus next. You’re in the most critical phase between early traction and scalable growth. The moves you make now will define your trajectory—and if you get them wrong, it’s hard to recover later. This course gives you the structure to get it right. Growth for Founders helps you lead with clarity—without needing to be a growth expert from day one. You’ll learn how to identify what’s driving value, what’s getting in the way, and how to align your team around focused, high-leverage growth efforts. Sean Ellis has been a trailblazer in this phase of growth—helping companies like Dropbox, LogMeIn, and Eventbrite turn early traction into repeatable, scalable systems. At Dropbox, he helped lay the foundation for the company’s rapid growth—setting in motion the systems that contributed to it becoming the fastest SaaS business to reach $1B in recurring revenue. And his frameworks have been used by countless other global successes ranging from TikTok to Nubank (the world's fastest growing bank). He knows what it takes to move fast without creating chaos—and how to lead growth in the uniquely cross-functional way only a founder can. In just two weeks, you’ll learn how to: - Choose a success metric that reflects real value—and use it to focus your team- Run the PMF survey to understand what makes your product a must-have (and for whom)- Build a growth model that maps how users experience value—and where growth breaks down- Prioritize experiments using the ICE framework to focus on what moves the needle- Design a 90-day plan to lead growth confidently—or hand it off with clarity- Avoid common early mistakes—from misaligned metrics to premature growth hires You’ll walk away with a clear roadmap, sharper instincts, and the confidence to lead—not guess—your way through this critical phase of growth.

The growth foundation every founder needs

Course syllabus

Live sessions run July 21–30, 2025 Each 90-minute session is hands-on and founder-focused. You’ll learn directly from Sean Ellis, applying his proven frameworks like the PMF Survey, Growth Model, and ICE prioritization to your own business in real time.

Mondays & Wednesdays

Want feedback on your decisions or ideas? Sean will stay on after each session for an open group AMA to go deeper, clarify takeaways, or offer direct feedback on your unique growth challenges.

Optional AMAs after each live session

This isn’t theory. After each session, you’ll apply the material to your startup—refining your metric, uncovering growth levers, or aligning your team. Each project is designed to drive clarity and momentum you can act on immediately.

Projects after each live session

Course schedule

You’ve launched—but growth is unclear: Learn what drives growth, where users drop off, and how to build a repeatable system.

You’re hiring a Head of Growth soon: Get the tools to choose the right person, stay aligned, and support growth without dropping the baton.

You’re considering owning growth yourself: Build the skills to lead growth now—and decide if you want to own the role long term.

Who will benefit most from this course?

What you’ll get out of this course

Use Sean’s proven PMF survey to identify what your best users value most—then turn those insights into sharper positioning and conversion. Originally developed by Sean, this survey has been used by top startups around the world to sharpen their growth strategy.

Nail messaging with the Must-Have Survey

Build a working growth model based on how users actually discover, activate, and return—so you can focus on what truly drives your metric.

Map your product’s real growth system

Pressure-test your North Star Metric to ensure it reflects real value—and align your team around a clear, focused measure of progress. Avoid the common mistake of rallying around a metric that misleads your team or misrepresents value.

Define and align around your success metric

Apply the ICE framework to spot and test improvements that move your metric—and don't just sound good in a brainstorm. Sean’s ICE framework is now a startup standard for fast, resource-conscious decision-making.

Prioritize fast, high-leverage experiments

Stop wasting time on surface-level wins, scattered tests, or premature hires. Learn when to double down, delegate, or hire—based on signal.

Avoid common growth missteps

Build a test-driven growth plan you can lead with confidence. You’ll leave with a 90-day roadmap to move your key metric—and a rhythm to keep momentum going. This is the same framework Sean has used in interim VP roles, now available publicly for the first time.

Build a focused 90-day growth plan

Turn early traction into repeatable growth. Learn the systems and tools founders need to lead early growth with confidence.

How Founders Should Lead Growth (Before Hiring)

Founding team at LogMeIn (acquired for $4.3B) & author of Hacking Growth

Understand why hiring too early stalls growth—and why only founders can turn early traction into a repeatable system.

Why delegating growth early fails

Learn the key actions founders must take before delegating—like defining your success metric and aligning your team.

Founder actions that unlock growth

You’ll leave with a lightweight process to begin mapping what drives your growth—no growth expert required.

Learn directly from Sean Ellis

Sean Ellis

Courses

Growth for Founders

Lightning Lessons

How Founders Should Lead Growth (Before Hiring)