Onboarding determines retention: if users don't get value immediately, they churn. The insight: time-to-value is what matters—not features, time.
Measure onboarding: what % of users reach activation (the moment they get value?)?, what's the time-to-activation? Tools like Pendo, Mixpanel for this.
Improvement: simplify onboarding, identify activation moments, guide users there. In-app guidance: tooltips, checklists, videos. Success metrics: activation rate and time.