Read the original at Lenny’s Newsletter ↗lennysnewsletter.com · subscriber post
By Lenny Rachitsky · lennysnewsletter.com · @lennysan on X · YouTube · LinkedIn
This paid post explains how to measure retention using cohort analysis, including how to read cohort charts for trends and for signs of flattening that indicate product-market fit. It then previews a framework of seven levers for improving retention, starting with the product itself and moving into onboarding, with the argument that new-user experience is often the highest-impact lever.
Subscriber post — summary only01Key takeaways
- Cohort retention shows long-term stickiness better than blended churn rates, since it isolates when users joined.
- A retention curve that flattens over time signals a group of users who keep finding ongoing value.
- Improving the new-user experience often moves retention more than adding features for long-term customers.
- Onboarding gains come from getting users to core value faster without rushing them past it.
- Retention is usually the most important early growth metric, so it deserves focus before other growth levers.
“In my experience, the real levers to improve retention dramatically are in the experience for new users.”Andrew Chen · Lenny’s Newsletter
“The first principle we learned at Pinterest is that we should get people to the core product as fast as possible — but not faster.”Casey Winters · Lenny’s Newsletter
02Frameworks mentioned
Summary and takeaways written by PM Atlas; quotes are short excerpts. © the original author.