Three clicks to user value

Redesigning onboarding to drive brand ownership and seller activation

Figma

Claude

Sigma & Heap

Before
After
Before
After

90%

Increase in Brand and domain set-up

10%

Increase in seller activation*

45%

Reduction in brand and domain set-up related support tickets

*Activation at Teachable is defined by a scoring model: a school is considered activated once it reaches a 60-point threshold across a defined sequence of early behaviors, including domain and branding customization.

CONTEXT

Teachable is a SaaS platform where creators build and sell online courses, and onboarding is the first moment a new creator forms an impression of the product.

DURATION

3 Months

MY ROLE

User Researcher

Product Designer

TEAM

Bia Frenkel - Senior Product Designer

Matthew Malia - Product Manager

David De Los Santos - Engineering Manager

Sarah Driscol - Director of Design

EXISTING ONBOARDING PROBLEM

Onboarding required a lengthy intake form followed by a five step course creation flow before creators saw any value specific to their business.

The intake form asked a long list of generic questions upfront. It fed directly into an equally long course creation sequence, separate screens for course details, thumbnail, pricing, purchase description, and outline, none of it building toward a moment where a creator felt Teachable was actually theirs.

PRIMARY INSIGHT

Users who customized their brand or domain activated faster, yet 85+ support tickets showed this was where creators struggled most.

Activation data and support ticket volume on these two issues had reached a scale where it could be read as a quantitative signal, not just anecdotal feedback, and it aligned directly with what qualitative research was already showing.

"I tried to find where to add my domain and gave up after a few minutes of clicking around Settings."

Anonymous user 1

"The form kept asking me things I didn't have answers to yet, like pricing"

Anonymous user 2

HYPOTHESIS

If brand and domain setup moves earlier into onboarding, then activation and retention improve,
because seeing their own school name and brand color sooner helps creators recognize Teachable as a fit for their business.

The data offered a correlation, not proof, and support tickets confirmed it was a real struggle for creators. I acted anyway, betting that seeing their own brand sooner would make Teachable feel like theirs. I led with customer value and let the results confirm the bet afterward. They did.

SOLUTION

A decision about where complexity should live, not a simplification: expanded where creators struggled, compressed where they lost time to value.

Brand and domain setup moved earlier and became more involved; course creation moved the opposite direction, collapsing six to seven screens into one. The total number of steps stayed roughly the same, what changed was where the effort was spent. Both shipped in phases, validated one at a time rather than all at once.

PHASE 1 - completion

We replaced a single screen of ten stacked dropdowns with a guided, progressive flow, including brand and domain set-up.

The bet:

Less to face at once → more people finish the flow.

Trade-off:

This increased the total number of steps, a deliberate trade-off, but meant creators were introduced to branding and domain as a natural part of getting started, not something they'd stumble into later in Settings.

Impact

Completion held flat at the population level (14.7% → 15.0%), but among creators who actually entered the flow, 75.5% completed it end to end, the population number just couldn't see that signal on its own.

Phase 2 - ENGAGEMENT

Making it feel like their school by adding a new step that asks for a school name, domain, and brand color, with a live preview.

The bet:

Early ownership and investment → more free trials convert to paid.

Trade-off:

Higher design and engineering complexity than a static form, plus extra copy work to make early decisions feel low-stakes and easy to change later.

Impact

Brand and domain customization rose from 30% to 90%+ of new creators in turn increasing user confidence to activate

Phase 3 - ACTIVATION

Product creation collapsed from a multi‑step modal into a single "Create your first product" screen inside the flow.

The bet:

Fewer steps → more people create a product during onboarding (and, downstream, convert).

Trade-off:

Fields like thumbnail and pricing were removed from the initial flow rather than consolidated, deferring that setup to later.

Impact

Seller activation improved by 10%, the most consistent result across the whole redesign, holding up across multiple time windows.

IMPACT

Customer value over confidence paid off, and it's how I still approach uncertain decisions.

90%

Increase in Brand and domain set-up

10%

Increase in seller activation*

45%

Reduction in brand and domain set-up related support tickets

*Activation at Teachable is defined by a scoring model: a school is considered activated once it reaches a 60-point threshold across a defined sequence of early behaviors, including domain and branding customization.

CHALLENGES & LEARNINGS

Product strategy, measurement, and the constraints that shaped my decision making

No controlled A/B test

The team didn't rule out A/B testing for lack of ability. A before/after comparison was judged to deliver a strong enough signal that investing the time to build a full controlled test wasn't worth it relative to the team's three-month learning window.

Defending metrics

Flow completion declined on the surface. The stronger case: users who completed the new flow were more prepared, having already set up their brand and domain, and that preparation showed up as a positive result in the business metrics that mattered, activation and retention.

Shipping in three phases

I knew from the outset I had roughly a three-month investment period and planned three phases to fit inside it. Each phase needed its own validation before the next began, a pace that only works when the timeline is set ahead of time, not retrofitted under pressure.

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Driven by detail and clarity, I design websites, products, and meaningful experiences.

Designed a personalized feature report card to drive upgrades through AI powered workflow

AI powered

Design

Design

Designed a provider comparison tool to reduce decision-making time and increase appointment bookings

AI

Design

Design

Designed an experience for childcare assistance program that help parents check eligibility and track applications in an accessible, transparent way

Accessibility

Concept app

Civic design

CONTEXT

Teachable is a SaaS platform where creators build and sell online courses, and onboarding is the first moment a new creator forms an impression of the product.

DURATION

2 Months

MY ROLE

User Researcher

Product Designer

TEAM

Bia Frenkel - Senior Product Designer

Matthew Malia - Product Manager

David De Los Santos - Engineering Manager

Sarah Driscoll- Director of Design

PHASE 1 - completion

We replaced a single screen of ten stacked dropdowns with a guided, progressive flow.

The bet:

Less to face at once → more people finish.

Trade-off:

This increased the total number of steps, a deliberate trade-off, but meant creators were introduced to branding and domain as a natural part of getting started, not something they'd stumble into later in Settings.

Impact

Completion held flat at the population level (14.7% → 15.0%), but among creators who actually entered the flow, 75.5% completed it end to end, the population number just couldn't see that signal on its own.

Phase 2 - CONVERSION

Making it feel like their school by adding a new step that asks for a school name, domain, and brand color, with a live preview.

The bet:

Early ownership and investment → more free trials convert to paid.

Trade-off:

Higher design and engineering complexity than a static form, plus extra copy work to make early decisions feel low-stakes and easy to change later.

Impact

Brand and domain customization rose from 30% to 90%+ of new creators inturn increasing user confidence to activate

Phase 3 - ACTIVATION

Product creation collapsed from a multi‑step modal into a single "Create your first product" screen inside the flow.

The bet:

Fewer steps → more people create a product during onboarding (and, downstream, convert).

Trade-off:

Fields like thumbnail and pricing were removed from the initial flow rather than consolidated, deferring that setup to later.

Impact

Seller activation improved by 10%, the most consistent result across the whole redesign, holding up across multiple time windows.

IMPACT

Customer value over confidence paid off, and it's how I still approach uncertain decisions.

90%

Increase in Brand and domain set-up

10%

Increase in seller activation

45%

Reduction in support tickets

PHASE 1 - completion

We replaced a single screen of ten stacked dropdowns with a guided, progressive flow.

The bet:

Less to face at once → more people finish.

Trade-off:

This increased the total number of steps, a deliberate trade-off, but meant creators were introduced to branding and domain as a natural part of getting started, not something they'd stumble into later in Settings.

Impact

Completion held flat at the population level (14.7% → 15.0%), but among creators who actually entered the flow, 75.5% completed it end to end, the population number just couldn't see that signal on its own.

Phase 2 - CONVERSION

Making it feel like their school by adding a new step that asks for a school name, domain, and brand color, with a live preview.

The bet:

Early ownership and investment → more free trials convert to paid.

Trade-off:

Higher design and engineering complexity than a static form, plus extra copy work to make early decisions feel low-stakes and easy to change later.

Impact

Brand and domain customization rose from 30% to 90%+ of new creators inturn increasing user confidence to activate

Phase 3 - ACTIVATION

Product creation collapsed from a multi‑step modal into a single "Create your first product" screen inside the flow.

The bet:

Fewer steps → more people create a product during onboarding (and, downstream, convert).

Trade-off:

Fields like thumbnail and pricing were removed from the initial flow rather than consolidated, deferring that setup to later.

Impact

Seller activation improved by 10%, the most consistent result across the whole redesign, holding up across multiple time windows.

IMPACT

Customer value over confidence paid off, and it's how I still approach uncertain decisions.

90%

Increase in Brand and domain set-up

10%

Increase in seller activation

45%

Reduction in support tickets

CHALLENGES & LEARNINGS

Product strategy, measurement, and the constraints that shaped my decision making

No controlled A/B test

The team didn't rule out A/B testing for lack of ability. A before/after comparison was judged to deliver a strong enough signal that investing the time to build a full controlled test wasn't worth it relative to the team's three-month learning window.

Defending metrics

Flow completion declined on the surface. The stronger case: users who completed the new flow were more prepared, having already set up their brand and domain, and that preparation showed up as a positive result in the business metrics that mattered, activation and retention.

Shipping in four phases

Flow completion declined on the surface. The stronger case: users who completed the new flow were more prepared, having already set up their brand and domain, and that preparation showed up as a positive result in the business metrics that mattered, activation and retention.

CHALLENGES & LEARNINGS

Product strategy, measurement, and the constraints that shaped my decision making

No controlled A/B test

The team didn't rule out A/B testing for lack of ability. A before/after comparison was judged to deliver a strong enough signal that investing the time to build a full controlled test wasn't worth it relative to the team's three-month learning window.

Defending metrics

Flow completion declined on the surface. The stronger case: users who completed the new flow were more prepared, having already set up their brand and domain, and that preparation showed up as a positive result in the business metrics that mattered, activation and retention.

Shipping in four phases

Flow completion declined on the surface. The stronger case: users who completed the new flow were more prepared, having already set up their brand and domain, and that preparation showed up as a positive result in the business metrics that mattered, activation and retention.