2 builders who never spoke to each other

Drive the first session to one real result

Name the two or three moments that make someone feel the product worked, then define the shortest route to the first of them and build onboarding around only that. A guided sequence that ends with the core action completed, a template instead of an empty screen, and a small celebration that hands the user straight into the next step are the mechanics that get people there.

The method

1. 01

   Define the shortest possible route from signup to the first genuinely satisfying result, and build onboarding around only that.

2. 02

   Pick one early moment in onboarding that will excite the customer and drive them straight to it, guessing if you must and refining later.

3. 03

   Identify the two or three specific accomplishments that make users feel successful, and engineer the first session to reach them.

4. 04

   Rebuild onboarding as a guided sequence that ends with the user completing the core action inside their first session.

5. 05

   Give a new user templates to start from rather than an empty editor, so the first real action takes seconds.

What it returned

• Rob Walling calls it the minimum path to awesome - for invoicing software it might be sending the first invoice, or getting paid for it.

• Rob Walling's Minimum Path to Awesome: for invoicing software the moment might be the first invoice sent or the first payment received, for proposal software the first proposal, for email marketing the first subscriber or first send.

• For Transistor users the moments were publishing a first episode and being able to send it to somebody.

• A twelve step guided flow covering niche, posting goals, timezone and actually publishing something.

Sources

• Investment loops in SaaS onboardingJustin Jackson · justinjackson.ca · The Psychology of Investment Loops · undated
• "People need my product!" (But do they want it?)Justin Jackson · justinjackson.ca · Minimum Path to Awesome · undated
• Optimize for usage, not just salesJustin Jackson · justinjackson.ca · How do you increase activation? · undated
• I Disappeared for 7 Months. Here's What Happened.Luca Restagno · solopreneurtofreedom.com · 🤔 What Plateau Taught Me · 2026-02-06
• My onboarding was a lieLuca Restagno · solopreneurtofreedom.com · My onboarding was a lie · 2026-03-27