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Thinking about PLG activation.

Notes from a team obsessed with the gap between signup and aha moment.

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Visual journey path from a user signup moment to a first value milestone
From Signup to First Value: A Product Walkthrough

How Onboardvue maps the activation journey for a PLG SaaS product: which events count as milestones, where cohort dropoff typically happens first, and how the system detects that a user has reached time-to-first-value.

8 min read
Abstract non-linear user journey paths contrasted with a traditional funnel shape
The Activation Funnel Is Not a Funnel

Linear funnel thinking kills PLG products. Users don't move in a straight line from signup to activation, and your model needs to reflect that.

7 min read
Abstract ML model visualization with behavioral signal nodes
How We Built Our Churn Model on Behavioral Signals

What behavioral features actually predict month-2 churn in self-serve SaaS: recency of last meaningful event, depth of feature engagement in week one, and whether the user ever reached their product-specific aha moment. How we weighted them and what the model gets wrong.

9 min read
Abstract user segmentation visualization with distinct clusters
Segmenting New Users by Job-to-Be-Done

Job-to-be-done segmentation is the most underused activation lever in PLG. Here's a practical guide to implementing it without a survey pop-up.

6 min read
Abstract time axis visualization with churn risk highlighted at specific intervals
Time-to-Value: The Metric That Predicts Churn

If you measure one thing in your activation funnel, make it time-to-value. We looked at 6 months of data to understand why it's the strongest churn predictor we have.

7 min read
Abstract burst of activation light representing the aha moment in product onboarding
Designing Aha Moments for B2B SaaS

The aha moment isn't a happy accident, it's an engineering problem. This post covers the design patterns that reliably produce first-value experiences.

8 min read
Abstract benchmark chart comparing activation rate performance levels
PLG Activation Rate Benchmarks: What Good Actually Looks Like

Activation rate benchmarks from our 2024 beta cohort: what a 25% activation rate actually means for a B2B SaaS at 1,000 MAU versus 10,000 MAU, and which metric to watch when your funnel data does not match your intuition.

7 min read
Abstract activation success state visualization with a clear bright endpoint
What Good Activation Actually Looks Like

The word "activated" means different things to every product team. This post argues for a specific, measurable definition and why it matters for churn.

6 min read