Onboarding new members in the first 48 hours

Most members decide whether to stay within their first two days. Our retention numbers made that hard to ignore: almost everyone still active after three months had done a few simple things early on. So we focus our onboarding on three of them in that first 48-hour window.

1. A complete profile. A photo, a city and a line about what they're working on. It makes them recognisable and gives others something to start a conversation with.
2. Joining at least one space. We suggest two or three based on the interests they pick at sign-up, so the feed isn't empty on day one.
3. A first post that gets a reply. We invite newcomers to introduce themselves in the Welcome Lounge, and a host replies to every introduction.

Automation helps, people matter more

We send a short welcome email and a reminder the next day if the profile is still empty. Those help, but nothing beats a real person saying hello. A two-line reply from someone who actually read the introduction does more than any template.

If you only change one thing in your onboarding this month, make it this: every new member should hear from a human within their first day.