Sean Ellis – Startup Investor Profile

Sean Ellis is an entrepreneur and angel investor with a strong focus on driving breakout growth. He is the Founder and CEO of GrowthHackers, a platform that integrates a SaaS solution for managing rapid growth experimentation with a community of growth professionals. Previously, he founded Qualaroo, a leading voice of customer solution, and CatchFree. Sean has a track record of successful exits, having led companies to acquisitions such as GrowthHackers in 2018 and Qualaroo in 2016. He has served on the Board of Directors for Mavenlink, which was acquired in 2021. Sean’s investment interests span Consumer Internet, Enterprise Software, Mobile, Games, Sports, Video Games, SaaS, and Telecommunication companies. He seeks opportunities in Newport Beach, Orange County, Los Angeles, and Silicon Valley. Sean’s investment check size has varied, aligning with the growth potential of the startups he supports. Additionally, Sean leverages his expertise by hosting the Breakout Growth Podcast and collaborating through partnerships like GoPractice, a program for learning data-driven product growth.

Location: Newport Beach, CA

Country: United States of America

Investment Regions:

Investment Stages: pre-seed, seed

Website:

AI Reasoning: Found evidence Sean Ellis invested in Bitium (reported 2013) but more recent activity: he appeared in a podcast and interview in 2025 and is active as advisor/investor; however I could not find a specific investment date within last 6 months. Given public appearances and ongoing advisory roles including Mavenlink (acquired 2021) and podcast activity in 2025, there is indication of recent active involvement. Also LinkedIn and YouTube posts in 2025 show continued investor/advisor engagement. Therefore classify as very-active.

Low Activity – Only known angel investments more than 12 months ago.

Active – Known angel investments between the last 12 and 6 months.

Very Active – Known angel investments in the last 6 months.