If it feels hard, it probably fails
A product leader’s guide to activation energy and why momentum matters more than you think.
We all dream of people loving our product, adopting our feature, getting excited about the thing we built.
But the problem usually is not that users hate it.
The problem is that it feels too hard to even get started.
That is activation energy at work.
Activation energy, borrowed from chemistry, is the minimum effort needed to kick off a reaction.
In product management, it is the effort needed for a user to move from curiosity to action.
If that effort feels high, people drop off.
If it feels manageable, momentum kicks in.
You can build the most brilliant feature and still lose if the activation energy is too high.
It is not about better features. It is about easier starts.
What activation energy means for Product Management
Think about the first five minutes of using a new product.
- Are you being asked for information you are not ready to give?
- Are you confused about what the next step is?
- Are you doing too much before seeing any benefit?
Every additional click, every unclear instruction, every unnecessary permission request stacks up.
It raises the energy required to get moving.
When that energy is too high, people back away quietly.
You do not lose because of bad design.
You lose because the first step felt heavier than it needed to be.
Activation Energy Funnel: Applied to onboarding
The easiest way to feel the cost of activation energy is during onboarding.
Let us break it down into five steps you can map today.
1. Trigger:
What pulls the user in? A search? A recommendation? An ad?
Did they know what they were signing up for?
2. First step:
What is the first thing you ask for? Account creation? Email confirmation? Payment?
Could they get value without having to give you that yet?
3. Friction points:
Where do users hesitate? Is there a confusing permission? A complex form? A missing explanation?
4. Early reward:
What small win do they get immediately? A setup success? A visible output? A moment of progress?
5. Momentum:
What pushes them to keep going? A next step suggestion? A first action completed? A streak to maintain?
The goal is not to make people complete onboarding.
The goal is to get them to value before they even realize it.
Blueprint: Activation energy applied everywhere
You can apply the activation energy lens to anything you are building, scaling, or leading.
Blueprint: Activation Energy Funnel
1. First Action:
What is the smallest, clearest action that triggers success?
eg. Signing up, Clicking “Get Started”, Saying yes to a pilot
2. Friction Check:
Where are we adding resistance that could delay or stop that first action?
eg. Too much information, Asking for payment too early, Organizational politics blocking adoption
3. First Win:
What visible or emotional payoff do people get immediately after the first action?
eg. Completed setup confirmation, First sale closed, First approval given
4. Momentum Path:
What keeps them moving smoothly toward the bigger goal without second-guessing or stalling?
eg. Suggested next step, Smart nudges, Early success stories, Clear metrics growing visibly
You can use this blueprint for:
- Features (adoption paths)
- Full Products (onboarding flows)
- Organizations (rolling out new processes)
- Leadership (driving team behavior change)
- Startups (getting early users past doubt)
Momentum beats perfection every time.
Final thought
You do not need more features.
You do not need a prettier landing page.
You need to lower the activation energy until moving forward feels easier than staying still.
The real product work starts before the user ever sees success.
It starts at the first second when they ask themselves,
“Is this worth it?”
Make sure the answer feels like yes.
