kantramo

nightmare

building ios app from zero, fixing onboarding and retention

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nightmare welcome screen: "Stop The Same Week On Repeat" over a mountain valley, with a Start button
nightmare onboarding: "This is your world (spin it)" with a floating 3D island, and a Start moving button
nightmare: "Your climb starts with this test" over a mountain with a glowing line, and a Take the test button

Problem

Scrolling in the morning was a habit I personally wanted to break, so I built an app for it. After three versions, I saw two main problems: poor conversion from onboarding to trial, and poor retention. For a productivity app, both were essential to fix.

Decisions

One story instead of mixed data

The old screen mixed interfaces and gave the user no clear result. I turned it into a story: their goal, their progress, and how hard their tasks are right now.

Before: an Activity screen with a contribution-style grid and a February 2026 calendar
After: the Arc screen with a goal, a momentum chart that climbs, and a gear level

Show value before the paywall

People didn’t convert. The problem could be the paywall or the onboarding. I improved the paywall, but still saw no results, so I focused on giving users the main value and a wow effect before they see it.

Before: a dark paywall, There's a version of you underneath, with Annual and Monthly plans
After: a paywall over a misty mountain valley, with four benefits, Annual and Monthly plans, and a Start Now button

One task, one button

The tasks screen was overcomplicated: dates, weekly and monthly goals. I simplified it to 1–2 tasks a day, with one button and nothing else to think about.

Before: a Tasks list for today with four crossed-out tasks and weekly goals
After: the Move screen offering one task, Read 30 pages of your current book, and a Lock in button

Results

1200+downloads
10% → 30%conversion to trial/sub
3+ daysmost users stayed, instead of 1

Learned

Don’t overcomplicate simple things, and don’t plan a bunch of features in your head. Always test with real users and work closely with data. Make users feel special, and don’t be afraid to delete features.