Cutting signup drop-off in half
Client
Northbeam
Year
2024
Role
Lead Product Designer
Tools
The problem
Northbeam's signup flow asked for bank verification, identity documents, and a funding source before a user had seen any real value. 64% of people who started signup never finished it, and support tickets about the flow outnumbered every other category combined.
The process
Map the drop-off
I pulled funnel data by step and ran five moderated sessions with people who'd abandoned mid-flow. The pattern was consistent: users didn't understand why bank verification came before they'd seen the product.
Reorder around value
We moved account creation and a guided product tour ahead of any verification step, and split identity + funding into an optional 'finish later' path with a persistent reminder.
Test in production
Shipped behind a flag to 10% of new signups for three weeks, watching completion rate and 7-day retention before rolling out fully.
The result
Signup completion rose from 36% to 71%, and the change shipped without adding a single new engineering headcount — most of the work was sequencing and copy, not new components.
+97%
Signup completion
-41%
Onboarding support tickets
3 wks
From flag to full rollout
Next case study
One design system, four product teams