Implementing goal-based onboarding to drive user activation in Mashvisor

Role

UX Lead Designer

timeline

2023-2024

TEAM

Product Owner, Founders, 1 junior designer, 2 lead developers, 4 dev teams

Scope

Going from freemium model to onboarding and role based journeys & pricing via customised dashboards

The context

Real estate investment platform operating on deceptive UX patterns and fundamentally broken business model.

Critical Issues:

Phase 1: Misleading Conversion Funnel

❌ "Unlock Analytics" button promised immediate access after sign-up

❌ Reality: same restrictions remained with no visual feedback - "unlock" button stayed identical

❌ Feature limitations had no explanations - users hit invisible walls

❌ Mobile sign-up flow had dead-ends causing abandonment

Phase 2: Broken Retention Model

❌ Users signed up for 7-day free trial to find investment properties

❌ Auto-charged for 3 months at trial expiration (not monthly - bulk charge)

❌ But users had already purchased properties during trial and stopped using platform

❌ No ongoing value beyond initial property search

❌ Platform designed for acquisition, not retention

Business Impact: High refund request rate draining customer service resources. Users felt deceived by dark patterns, leading to trust damage and negative word-of-mouth. Business model unsustainable - treated users as one-time transactions rather than long-term partners."We were solving for acquisition, not retention"

‍

*Initial Sign-Up Flow: Users were driven to make an account to see analytics but nothing changed after sign-up.*

‍

The Solution

1. Honest Sign-up Flow

Removed Dark Patterns:

Clear tier communication - transparent free vs. paid feature breakdown
Immediate visual feedback after sign-up - unlocked features highlighted
Explained filter limitations instead of hiding them
Fixed mobile dead-ends - streamlined 4 steps to 2

*After sign-up users were able to see partial analytics with more clarity about what is locked for the free user.*

‍

2. Goal-Based Onboarding Architecture - Stop Treating All Investors the Same:

Created 4 distinct investor personas:

🏠 Flip investors (buy, renovate, sell quickly)
💰 Cash flow investors (long-term rentals)
🏖️ Short-term rental managers (Airbnb hosts)
📊 Market researchers (still exploring)

*UX persona mapping part of the research phase*

‍

3. Personalized Dashboards:‍

Different feature prioritization per goal
Goal-specific analytics surfaced first
Relevant property filters automatically configured

4. Extended Platform Value Beyond Acquisition:‍

✅ Rental price management tools (for post-purchase)
✅ Market monitoring alerts
✅ Portfolio performance tracking
✅ Transformed from "one-time search tool" to "ongoing investment partner"

*High-level wireframe for custom dashboard experience*

*Personalised Dashboard for user unique needs*

Impact

Trust & Transparency:

✅ 22% reduction in refund requests - honest expectation-setting eliminated "felt deceived" complaints
✅ Reduced customer service workload related to feature access confusion
✅ Reduced customer service dispute requests significantly as the team leader shared
✅ ~2% mobile sign-up conversion improvement

Activation & Retention:

✅ 85% onboarding completion rate - goal-based approach resonated with users
✅ Users reported platform felt "personalized, not generic"
✅ Extended customer lifetime value through post-purchase features

Business Model Transformation:

✅ Shifted from one-time tool to ongoing platform
✅ Created retention-focused features addressing full investor lifecycle
✅ Established foundation for sustainable business growth

Key Insight

Good UX isn't just about smooth flows - it's about honest value exchange. The initial problem seemed tactical (improve conversion), but the real issue was strategic: the platform operated on dark patterns and flawed assumptions about user needs. By removing deceptive practices and expanding our understanding of the full investor lifecycle, we built a sustainable business model based on genuine user value, not tricks.

"She showcased exceptional talent and expertise in UX design. Ana's contributions were instrumental in shaping the user experience and final design for user experiences supported by real estate investment analytics and machine learning algorithms."

Elena Wood

Product owner @ Mashvisor

I am glad to have worked with Anastasiya, a UX designer who not only has a high level of creativity but also a very broad technical understanding.

Moritz Schmidt

Digital Transformation Manager @ Lufthansa Technik

Having Sia as the UX design expert in the team has turned out to be one of the key factors behind the success story of the project.
With an in-depth understanding of the client's business processes, she not only designed a modern-looking user interface for the applications, but actually streamlined user journeys, made interaction with the systems much more intuitive and helped eliminate human errors in data input.

Teodora Gancheva

Lead Architect @ OneBit Software

Anastasiya is strong professionalist in the creative and human behavior consultancy. She has an eye of an artist and really well understood my buisness needs for my e commerce store. Wonderful connection!

Laurence Bruyninckx

Jewelry Designer @ LX Antwerp

Implementing goal-based onboarding to drive user activation in Mashvisor

Removing dark patterns and transforming acquisition-focused tool into retention platform