Instead of a self-serve model, Superhuman used mandatory, 1-on-1 onboarding to ensure every user was deliriously happy. This allowed them to control the narrative, identify every bug, and turn early users into powerful net promoters, justifying the high initial cost.

While the goal is often a frictionless experience, some friction can be a positive filter. Descript found that users willing to download a desktop app were more invested and more likely to stick around. Don't be afraid of early steps that test a user's commitment.

For years, Superhuman required every new user, including investors, to complete a personal onboarding session and provide a credit card upfront. This counterintuitive, high-touch process established value and created the product's most passionate advocates, with the highest NPS and lowest churn.

Robinhood amassed nearly a million users before launch without a marketing team. Their key tactic was a gamified waitlist where users could see their position in line and jump ahead by referring friends, creating a powerful and cost-free viral acquisition loop.

Anthropic's "Project Glasswing," offering limited access to its powerful Mythos model, is more than a safety measure. It's a savvy marketing play creating exclusivity and scarcity. This drives a "fear of missing out" (FOMO) among potential customers, building hype and demand ahead of its IPO.

Retro's emotional onboarding video caused a 20-30% signup drop-off. While seemingly a failure, this friction can act as a valuable filter, weeding out low-intent users and attracting those who resonate deeply with the product's core mission from the very beginning.

Word-of-mouth growth is directly tied to a rapid time-to-value. When a user can experience the product's core benefit almost instantly, it significantly lowers the social risk for the person recommending it. The referrer is confident their friend will quickly validate the recommendation, making them look good and removing referral friction.

Contrary to a 'frictionless' growth mindset, legal tech unicorn Clio deliberately added hurdles like a 30-minute webinar to its beta program. This strategy filtered out casual users, ensuring they worked with a small, highly engaged customer cohort to truly validate the product's value before focusing on growth.

Instead of rejecting applicants, Nubank placed them on a waitlist, creating scarcity and desire. They gamified it by giving priority to users invited by friends, simultaneously fueling viral growth and collecting valuable data for their credit models.