Lessons on building product sense, navigating AI, optimizing the first mile, and making it through the messy middle | Scott Belsky (Adobe, Behance)

In the first 30s of using a new product you are lazy, vain and selfish. You want to feel successful very quickly. You don't want to watch tutorials, read anything, or endure any learning curve whatsover.

If you manage to get people through the first 30s, then you get the opportunity to build a lasting relationship with them and show them your mission and the full potential of your app.

As your product evolves and gains more traction, you should adapt your onboarding process because you'll attract new kinds of customers. For example:

• Early users are more willing and forgiving
• Whereas later stage users are more skeptical, less forgiving, and less willing to deal with your friction

Photoshop used to cost hundreds of $, but now it's accessible to anyone with creative desires for as little as $10/month. These new users lack the skills or the tolerance to develop them, so Photoshop had to redesign the onboarding experience to acommodate them.