3 builders who never spoke to each other

Let people in before you ask for an account

Requiring registration before anyone has seen value puts the cost first and the benefit second. Give a route in that skips the form and the card, place the paywall a few steps along once somebody is already using the thing, and treat the gap between arriving and getting something useful as the number to obsess over.

The method

1. 01

   Take the account requirement out of signup so a stranger can use the product before trusting you with anything.

2. 02

   Stop asking a first-time visitor for a card. Trade something free, a trial or a cut-down version of the service, for their email and sell them later.

3. 03

   Offer a route into the product that skips the signup form and the credit card entirely, and place the paywall a few steps in once the visitor is already using it.

4. 04

   Make the gap between a new user arriving and a new user getting something useful the number you obsess over.

What it returned

• Mullvad sells VPN access with no account at all and takes cash by post, Obsidian needs no account, and Session requires no phone number.

• Aaron and Steve's High Performance SQLite course gives the homepage visitor a choice between buying and simply starting to watch; the introduction and SQLite internals modules play with no account, and payment is only requested at the schema module.

Sources

• Investment loops in SaaS onboardingJustin Jackson · justinjackson.ca · "Give them a taste!" · undated
• How to improve SaaS landing page conversions - Rob HopeRob Hope · robhope.com · 2024-12-20
• Privacy as a Service: Indie Opportunities, Product Bundles, Audit Moats - Trends.vcDru Riley · trends.vc · 🏁 Players · 2026-04-23
• Figma's CEO: Why AI makes design, craft, and quality the new moat for startups | Dylan FieldDylan Field · lennysnewsletter.com · 2025-10-16