Winning a signup or a sale is only half the job. What happens in the first few minutes after — the setup, the first use — decides whether the person becomes a fan or quietly disappears. Most onboarding feels like a chore, and chores get abandoned.
Get them one win fast
The goal of onboarding isn't to show every feature; it's to get the person to their first small success as quickly as possible. One thing that works, right away, earns the patience for everything else. Delay that win and you lose them before it arrives.
Cut every step you can
Each field, each screen, each 'set this up first' is a place to drop out. Ask for the minimum, default the rest, and let people get to the good part. You can teach the advanced bits once they care enough to stay.