Hacker in this context means someone who quickly and cheaply creates new things, as in &quot;it&#x27;s hacked together&quot;. Like how we&#x27;re on Hacker News, it&#x27;s not a security website, it&#x27;s a website for people interested in startup news. Growth hacking basically means any form of growth that doesn&#x27;t come from a fat marketing budget or traditional brand growing methods. I definitely think their method counts.