They wanted to make sure the first-run experience felt valuable from the start, giving users a reason to come back — without skipping necessary setup or acknowledgments.
With a simple psychological mapping of the onboarding journey, I showed them the First Meaningful Win™ — that moment users feel the product’s value — came too late.
Too many steps. Not enough reward early on.
So here’s what we did:
1️⃣ Reordered the steps so the FMW comes much sooner, when motivation is highest.
2️⃣ Blended setup and acknowledgment steps at the right time, so they feel like natural progress, not a checklist.
3️⃣ Defined a clear first milestone, broken into 3 easy steps and shown right on the welcome screen. We used benefit-driven copy to spark action — and built a genuine celebration screen to mark the win, provide closure, and guide the next step.
💎 Bonus 1: Added “Remind me later” options to each step, giving users the freedom to pause and return safely, with saved progress.
💎 Bonus 2: Designed a visually distinct celebration screen (not just confetti) to break the pattern and elevate the moment emotionally, helping users live a true moment of accomplishment. A powerful way to create positive associations with the product and set the stage for repeat usage & product adoption.
As a result,
• The promised <> experienced value gap is now shorter.
• Completing all steps feels smooth & intentional.
• First sessions end on a high, not a question mark.
No redesign.
Just smart sequencing, empathy, and a pinch of emotional design.
What I loved most?
We did all this BEFORE the product even launched.
Because the team wanted onboarding to work from day one — not be fixed later.
They knew retention starts with activation.
And by being proactive instead of reactive, they saved time, money, and guesswork, by designing a clear path from signup to value.
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📈 Wrote a full case study on this project.
You’ll find it in my Featured section → François Simitchiev
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