The hard problem of onboarding horizontal products

Because the hard side is so critical, it is imperative to have hypotheses about how a product will cater to these users from day one. A successful new product should be able to answer detailed questions: Who is the hard side of your network, and how will they use the product? What is the unique value proposition to the hard side? (And in turn, the

... See more

What’s missing is a mechanism that ties these stats into meaningful unlocks and progressive skill-building. How would you answer these questions? When a customer uses your product for months, what are they getting better at? How will you show personal or social progress in a compelling, meaningful way? How is your customer’s Day 30 experience diffe

... See more

There’s nothing wrong with spelling things out in detail for people if your product needs to be complex, but remember that the longer the onboarding process, the more necessary it will be to show new users some form of progress throughout it.

The next area where I think games have a lot to teach product designers is in onboarding . Many games follow the path of slowly revealing the complexity of a system over time, giving the player just enough to do that they're engaged but not overwhelmed. Often this is a continual process that happens across the entire span of the game. Multiple hour... See more

...scarcity in the ability to actually develop each "local" user experience in a way that both aligns with the culture of the new market and holds true to the company’s core product beliefs and north star vision for the business.