Email Verification
Forces users out of the product immediately after signup. Interrupts momentum before any value has been delivered.
Cost: High friction, near-zero value signal
Mandatory Profile Setup
Asks users to give before they receive. Data collection before value delivery signals "this product is about us, not you."
Cost: Intent drain before first value event
5-Minute Video Walkthrough
The highest-tax step in most onboarding flows. Users trade 5 minutes of time without any guarantee of value in return.
Cost: Very high — most users skip entirely
The Activation Moment
The first event where the user feels they have broken even. They have received more value than the setup cost. After this point, users complete setup voluntarily.
Reward: Front-load this — shrink everything before it