Sep 64 min read

Why "Growth Hacking" will f*ck your business up.

Updated: Sep 7

Why Growth Hacking is Bad and Dangerous for Your Company

What is Growth Hacking?

Growth hacking is a buzzword that’s been tossed around like it’s the holy grail of marketing. Coined by Sean Ellis in 2010, a “growth hacker” is someone whose only focus is to drive growth—often by any means necessary. Think of it as marketing on steroids, with a priority on rapid experimentation and quick wins. It’s the stuff of startup folklore: viral loops, SEO hacks, A/B tests, and social media exploits that promise to skyrocket your user base overnight. Sounds great, right? But here’s the catch: it’s mostly bullshit.

The Dark Side of Growth Hacking

Let’s cut the crap. Growth hacking isn’t a magic bullet. It’s often just a series of desperate attempts to pump up numbers without any real regard for what comes next. Sure, it can get you short-term results, but those quick wins often come with a massive hangover that can cripple your business. Here’s why growth hacking is a bad idea:

1. Short-Term Gains, Long-Term Pain

Growth hacking is all about instant gratification. It’s like giving your business a shot of adrenaline without fixing the underlying issues. You might see a spike in user acquisition or engagement, but what happens when the buzz wears off? Companies that chase growth at all costs often neglect long-term strategies that actually matter, like building a strong brand, maintaining customer relationships, and creating a quality product. You end up with a bloated user base that doesn’t stick around.

As Andrew Chen, a well-known growth expert, put it: “Acquiring users without retaining them is like trying to fill a leaky bucket.” It’s pointless. You’re burning cash on tactics that don’t build any real value.

2. Pissing Off Your Customers

Growth hacking tactics often border on the annoying or downright deceptive. Think spammy email campaigns, obnoxious pop-ups, or clickbait ads that don’t deliver on their promises. These tricks might get you clicks, but they also piss people off. When customers feel misled or manipulated, they’re not coming back. Worse, they’ll tell others about their shitty experience, damaging your brand even more.

The LinkedIn “growth hack” of spamming contact lists to get more sign-ups is a classic example. They grew fast, sure, but it also led to a class-action lawsuit and a lot of pissed-off users who felt their trust was violated.

3. Ethical and Legal Shitstorms

Growth hackers love to push the boundaries, but playing fast and loose with the rules can backfire in a big way. Exploiting loopholes in social media algorithms, scraping data without permission, or employing aggressive tactics that skirt the law can land you in serious trouble. When Uber was caught using the “Greyball” program to evade regulators, it wasn’t just a PR nightmare—it was a legal disaster that cost them millions and damaged their already shaky reputation.

If you’re constantly asking “How do I do growth hacking?” and not “Should I be doing this?” you’re setting yourself up for a fall. The line between clever marketing and outright fraud isn’t as thick as you think.

4. Killing Your Company Culture

Let’s be real: growth hacking doesn’t exactly inspire integrity. It’s a short-sighted hustle that can clash with your company’s values and culture. If your team is focused on pulling stunts instead of building something meaningful, you’re in trouble. You end up with a toxic environment where the only thing that matters is hitting the next target, no matter what.

This misalignment is a ticking time bomb. When employees are pressured to deliver growth at all costs, you can bet corners will be cut, ethics will take a backseat, and the fallout will be messy. If your team is burnt out or disengaged because they’re constantly chasing some bullshit metric, don’t act surprised when the whole thing falls apart.

5. Dependency on Tactics That Don’t Last

Growth hacks are like one-hit wonders—they’re great until they’re not. Algorithms change, platforms evolve, and what worked yesterday can be dead in the water tomorrow. Companies that lean too hard on these quick fixes end up scrambling when the tactics dry up. You’re left with a bloated customer base that you can’t retain and no sustainable strategy to keep them around.

Just look at what happened with early Facebook game developers like Zynga. They rode the wave of viral growth but fell off hard when Facebook changed its algorithm. All those “hacks” didn’t mean squat when the platform pivoted, leaving Zynga scrambling to adjust and bleeding users in the process.

Is Growth Hacking Good? Spoiler: No.

Growth hacking might sound good in theory, but it’s not a strategy—it’s a gamble. The risks far outweigh the rewards. You end up chasing vanity metrics that look great on paper but don’t translate into sustainable business. So, the next time someone pitches you on a growth hack, ask yourself: are you building a business or just trying to make numbers go up?

Conclusion

Growth hacking is often more smoke and mirrors than substance. It’s a desperate play for attention that overlooks what really matters: building a strong, sustainable business that people actually want to engage with. Don’t get caught up in the bullshit of growth at all costs. Focus on creating real value, and the growth will take care of itself.