Accelerating onboarding and activation at PartnerStack

Getting to the root of the problem

The setup flow wasn’t just tedious—it was opaque.

From group creation to trigger logic, vendors had to learn our product’s mental model and build their program at the same time. It was like being handed the controls to a complex machine with no dashboard or guide.

To understand the full picture, I paired up with our onboarding team, listened to Gong calls, reviewed internal documentation, and mapped out the critical path to activation:

1. Complete a company profile

2. Create groups to define partner types

3. Create triggers to define commissions

4. Learn our product language

5. Complete the remaining checklist tasks

This gave me a working blueprint of our onboarding flow—and a long list of friction points.

Shifting the mindset: from passive learning to guided action

Initially, I explored embedding onboarding within our group templates. But as I dug deeper, I realized we were approaching it backward.

Our primary goal wasn’t education—it was acceleration.

So we reframed the challenge: How might we guide users through activation in a way that feels intuitive, incremental, and empowering?

Two epics, one goal: fast-track activation

We broke the work into two strategic epics over 12 weeks. Each focused on delivering value fast—without compromising long-term vision.

Epic 1: simplified program configuration (6 weeks)

Tool: Pendo checklist (no engineering lift)
Goal: Learn quickly, reduce clicks, build momentum

I leveraged Pendo to build a lightweight onboarding experience using a modal-driven checklist. This quick win helped us gather usage data while giving users a clearer path to success.

🛠 Result: Reduced onboarding steps by 93%—from 70 clicks down to just 3–5

I watched Pendo session replays, cross-referenced Gong calls, and continuously surfaced insights to the team. These early signals shaped our next move.

Epic 2: Native onboarding checklist (6 weeks)

Tool: Fully native experience, aligned with design system
Goal: Deliver a scalable, branded onboarding flow

Building on what we learned, we launched a native ‘Getting Started’ checklist inside the platform—covering every critical step, from profile setup to commissions.

The checklist became a central part of the onboarding experience—scalable, lightweight, and fully self-serve.

Designing for reality, while dreaming of the north star

One of the tensions I managed was balancing our future vision with the realities of a six-week build cycle.

For example, I advocated against locking users into a gated onboarding flow—something the team initially considered. After technical scoping and user empathy discussions, we moved forward with a dismissible modal. It was a flexible solution that respected the user’s context and allowed us to ship faster and learn in the wild.

How we worked

I led end-to-end design on this project—from research and journey mapping to UX, UI, and prototyping.

But just as important as the output was how we got there.

• I co-created with onboarding, success, and marketing teams to ensure alignment and shared ownership

• I hosted design jams, ran feedback sessions, and used Miro and Loom to gather asynchronous input

• I brought engineering in early—collaborating on how to reuse design system components and optimize build efficiency

• I shared prototypes with newly onboarded customers, enhanced the work from feedback and validated the direction and usability.

• I coordinated with marketing to refine the visual tone of our onboarding graphics, landing on a direction that emphasized personal empowerment over faceless scale

One of my favourite moments: replacing a marketplace-style multi-person graphic with a bold, single figure to reflect individual ownership during onboarding. Small detail, big meaning.

Key learnings

• Design in the open. Sharing early and often—especially with cross-functional teams—builds trust, surfaces better ideas, and prevents last-minute surprises.

• Start small, scale smart. Using tools like Pendo for early iteration helped us test fast without burning dev cycles.

• User empathy is a compass. Whether reviewing a Gong call or sharing prototypes with customers, the fastest way to clarity was stepping into the user’s shoes and hearing what they had to say.

• Scope with intention. Clear definitions of what’s “now” vs. “next” helped us stay focused, aligned, and confidently say no when needed.