§ Live proof · sample data
12 interviews → 1 ranked bet.
Every claim cited.
Themes with fewer than 2 verified source quotes are dropped automatically, so the roadmap you defend to the board is one you can trace to a customer’s exact words. Below is a real report, end to end: evidence → ranked bet → a Build Pack your coding agent can ship.
1 theme dropped: fewer than 2 verified citations. The AI can’t make it up.
↓ Research synthesis
Research synthesis
4 themes · 12 transcripts
Interview 01. SMB ops lead · Interview 02. Founding PM · Interview 03. SMB ops lead · Interview 04. Solo founder · Interview 05. Growth PM · Interview 06. Design lead · Interview 07. Founding PM · Interview 08. RevOps manager · Interview 09. Solo founder · Interview 10. Support lead · Interview 11. Head of product · Interview 12. Onboarding specialist
June 1, 2026 · Highest quality run
№ 01
Users abandon onboarding at the workspace-setup step
The mandatory team/workspace setup wall fires before anyone has seen value. Solo evaluators read "invite your team" and "company size" as commitment they have not agreed to yet, and close the tab.
onboardingactivationsetup
SMBself-serve
Frequency
7
7 of 12 interviews
high
Impact score
42
S4 · 7 quotes
Evidence (7)
Interview 01. SMB ops lead · SMB ops lead · 4:22
I just wanted to try it. Why are you asking me to invite my whole team before I have even seen it work?
Interview 07. Founding PM · founding PM · 11:08
I closed the tab when it asked for my company size. That is a sales question, not a setup question.
Interview 04. Solo founder · solo founder · 2:25
There was a five-step wizard before the actual product. I bailed at step three.
Interview 05. Growth PM · growth PM · 6:41
It felt like signing a contract just to look around. I did not want to add teammates yet.
Interview 08. RevOps manager · RevOps manager · 8:32
I came back two days later and started over because I never finished the setup the first time.
+ 2 more
Interview 11. Head of product · head of product · 3:53
The invite-your-team screen is the moment I lost momentum. I was solo, evaluating.
Interview 09. Solo founder · solo founder · 2:58
I wanted a sandbox, not a checklist. Setup before value is backwards.
Suggested user story
As a new user evaluating the product solo, I want to reach core functionality before completing workspace setup, so that I can judge the value before committing my team.
Acceptance criteria
- ·New users land in a sandbox workspace pre-populated with sample data.
- ·Workspace setup is offered but fully skippable.
- ·Skipping setup does not block any core feature during evaluation.
- ·"Invite your team" and "company size" are deferred until after first value.
- ·A returning user resumes where they left off instead of restarting setup.
№ 02
New users can't tell what to do first after signup
After landing in an empty workspace, users hunt for a starting action. With no obvious first step, momentum stalls within the first minute.
onboardingfirst-runempty-state
SMB
Frequency
5
5 of 12 interviews
medium
Impact score
24
S3 · 4 quotes
Evidence (4)
Interview 06. Design lead · design lead · 1:36
I logged in and just stared at an empty screen. What am I supposed to click?
Interview 10. Support lead · support lead · 3:31
There was no obvious first move. I poked around for a minute and then got distracted.
Interview 12. Onboarding specialist · onboarding specialist · 5:40
A clear "start here" would have saved me. I did not know what the product wanted from me.
Interview 05. Growth PM · growth PM · 7:35
Empty workspace, no guidance. I assumed I had to import something but was not sure what.
Suggested user story
As a brand-new user, I want a single obvious first action on landing, so that I can get to value without guessing.
Acceptance criteria
- ·The first-run state shows exactly one primary next action.
- ·The action is achievable in under two minutes with sample data.
№ 03
The team-invite prompt feels premature for solo trials
Solo evaluators experience the invite prompt as pressure to involve colleagues before they themselves are convinced, which raises social cost and stalls the trial.
onboardinginvitespricing-signal
self-serve
Frequency
4
4 of 12 interviews
medium
Impact score
19
S3 · 4 quotes
Evidence (4)
Interview 02. Founding PM · founding PM · 4:49
I am not going to drag coworkers in until I know it works. Asking up front is too much.
Interview 03. SMB ops lead · SMB ops lead · 6:12
The invite step made me feel like I had to commit the team. I just wanted to test it myself.
Interview 08. RevOps manager · RevOps manager · 3:18
Inviting people is a real ask internally. Do not put that on step one.
Interview 09. Solo founder · solo founder · 4:21
I skipped the invite, but it kept nudging me. That nudging is what made me leave.
№ 04
Sample data would de-risk the first session
Several users explicitly asked for pre-loaded example data so they could see the product working before investing their own.
onboardingsample-dataactivation
SMB
Frequency
3
3 of 12 interviews
medium
Impact score
14
S2 · 3 quotes
Evidence (3)
Interview 06. Design lead · design lead · 6:50
Give me a demo project I can poke at. I do not want to upload my real stuff to evaluate.
Interview 11. Head of product · head of product · 5:18
If there had been example data, I would have understood it in thirty seconds instead of ten minutes.
Interview 12. Onboarding specialist · onboarding specialist · 4:12
I learn by clicking around a filled-in account, not an empty one.
↓ The bet: evidence becomes a decision
Let new users reach core value before workspace setup
The mandatory setup wall (invite team, company size) fires before any value is shown. 7 of 12 interviews abandoned here, the single largest drop in the first session. The fix is to move setup after the first aha, not before it.
Audience
Self-serve trial signups evaluating solo before involving their team
Confidence
high · grounded in cited evidence
Expected outcome
Activation (first real action completed) +18% within 30 days of shipping the skippable-setup sandbox
Counter-evidence
2 of 12 (both larger-team buyers) preferred configuring the workspace first; Deferring company size removes an early qualification signal for sales-assisted deals
Risks tracked
- ·A sandbox that is too disconnected from real setup could create a second, later drop-off at the conversion step.
- ·Pre-loaded sample data must be obviously sample, or users may mistake it for their own.
Build Pack: ready to paste into a coding agent
Coding-agent prompt
Implement a skippable onboarding so new users reach core value before workspace setup.
1. On first login, route new users into a sandbox workspace seeded with sample data instead of the setup wizard.
2. Make every setup step (invite team, company size) optional and dismissible; persist "setup deferred" state per user.
3. Ensure no core evaluation feature is gated behind setup completion.
4. Add a single "start here" primary action to the first-run state, achievable in under two minutes on the sample data.
Acceptance criteria: new users land in a pre-populated sandbox; setup is offered but skippable; skipping blocks nothing core; invite/company-size are deferred until after first value; a returning user resumes rather than restarting. Instrument activation as "first real action completed" and compare against the deferred-setup cohort.
