Valubyl

Valubyl is a PLG consultancy that has helped 25+ B2B SaaS companies build product-led onboarding that helps new users quickly understand the product and reach value on their own.

Founder

Instantly.ai

PLG Advisor

Stockpress

Gymdesk

echowin

PI.EXCHANGE

Morgen

TrueClicks

Advisor

Databox

https://www.growthunhinged.com/p/the-evolution-of-product-onboarding-databox

DataTrails

Founder @ Valubyl | Product-Led Growth Advisor

Husband, father, and founder, currently building Valubyl.

Valubyl is a PLG consultancy that has helped 25+ B2B SaaS companies build product-led onboarding that helps new users quickly understand the product and reach value on their own.

Sound like something you need help with?

Feel free to send me a DM, email at yaakov@valubyl.com, or book an intro call with the link above.

Yaakov Carno

Everyone's adding AI prompt bars to their product. Almost no one knows how to design them right. So I mapped 40+ AI prompt journeys - from homepage to onboarding - across products like Canva, Notion, Vercel, Wix, and Airtable.

The result?
A full Prompt Bar Journey Library.

A teardown of how top teams are designing prompt-to-value flows that actually activated users - not just impress them.

Inside, you’ll see:
✅ Prompt examples that drive activation - not just “wow”
✅ How top products capture context without any setup friction
✅ The exact moment to execute a prompt (before or after signup)
✅ What happens after the first output (and why most teams lose users there)

If you’re building an AI feature or onboarding flow, this library will save you weeks of trial and error.
It’s for builders who care about activation, not aesthetics.

For teams who want to turn “Try our AI!” into actual adoption.

I built this for growth leads, founders, and PMs shaping how humans talk to AI.

Want the Prompt Bar Journey Library?

1️⃣ Make sure we’re connected
2️⃣ Comment "PROMPTBAR" below - and I’ll send it your way

Helped 30+ B2B SaaS companies upgrade their PLG self-serve onboarding. Building Valubyl and sharing the behind-the-scenes of our PLG revamps.

New Valubyl website is live! 🤩 

For the last 3 years, we've been building a simple and powerful vision:

Turn self-serve onboarding into your strongest PLG growth lever.

30+ clients later… we finally have a site that actually reflects what we do. 

Capturing onboarding and activation work in a website is hard. But this is version 1 and the first step toward showcasing the depth of what we deliver every day.

👉 Activation revamp sprints
👉 PLG execution and advisory
👉 Real results, real case studies

If you're focusing on getting more paying customers from your freemium or free trial, let's chat.

PLG onboarding & activation revamps for B2B SaaS companies

Has SaaS lost it's mind? We've entered the new UX era 🤯 

AI prompt bars are everywhere. And it’s fascinating to see how differently products are using them.

Some feel magical.
Some feel confusing.
And some are quietly redefining onboarding and user activation entirely.

Over the last month, I mapped out 40+ prompt-bar journeys from tools like Canva, Vercel, Lovable, Airtable, and Bolt to see how the best teams are solving this.

The results were wild!!!

A mix of brilliant patterns, clever UX details, and a few surprising misses. 

From “Ask me anything” chaos... 
to onboarding that teaches by doing.

This carousel shares the highlights, and the full deep-dive article (in the comments) breaks down exactly what’s changing in activation.

Thank you Kyle Poyar for another epic collaboration, just keeps getting better! 🔥 

If you’re building an AI product, you're going to want to save this one!

The New UX Era 🔥

“Why would you hire me when you could just do it yourself?”
That’s the question I asked Nathan from Freckle.io on a recent call.
(Yeah, probably not my smartest sales question 😅)

We were chatting about their PLG onboarding project I was working on, and I genuinely wanted to know.

Why choose to work with an agency like mine, Valubyl, when you could just handle it internally…
or even use AI to figure it out?

He paused for a moment and replied:

“There are certain business/product problems where it makes a ton of sense to bring someone in who’s seen that movie many times before, and onboarding and activation is one those.

If you think about a typical product manager or designer,
if they've been in their career for 10 years,
they've probably only worked on onboarding and activation flow maximum 3 times,
most of them maybe once or none”

And he’s right.

You can learn onboarding once. You can design onboarding a few times.

But when you’ve rebuilt 30+ onboarding experiences across SaaS products,
you start to see patterns that others miss.

That’s the superpower of a hyper-niche agency today.

In a world where AI can do “a bit of everything,” what actually stands out is being really good at one thing, not being average at everything. 

Nathan’s answer reminded me why I started Valubyl in the first place.

To go deep.

Not to do everything, but to do one thing. 
PLG activation and onboarding.
Better than anyone else.

New podcast drop with Alex Oppenheimer is live 🎙️ We went deep on what really drives PLG - and why most teams get it wrong.

Here’s what we covered:

> What PLG actually means: your product should do the job of Sales/CS - guide, qualify, and tell the story inside the experience.

> Why focus wins: one lever, done exceptionally well, compounds everything else - activation, retention, and CAC.

> AI ≠ magic: Prompt bars and “wow” moments drive curiosity, but long-term adoption still comes from solving a real problem with guided context.

> Why bring in specialists: Even great teams only tackle onboarding a few times. Repetition across dozens of SaaS products shortens the learning curve - and avoids the usual pitfalls.

And a whole lot more in our 30-min chat…

When I started Valubyl, the goal was simple: solve one painful, repeatable problem - self-serve onboarding and activation. 

At first, we were advisors - helping SaaS teams spot what wasn’t working and what to fix.
Now, three years later, we’ve evolved into an execution-first agency - not just telling teams what to do, but actually doing it for them.

Our core offer: In 2-4 weeks, we ship a redesigned onboarding experience your team can launch and see the results - no fluff, just outcomes.

If you’re trying to turn more signups into revenue, see what great activation actually looks like, and get a better understanding of what it takes to win with PLG - this episode’s for you.

Comment ALEX and I’ll DM you the link...

... just joking :) check the first comment.

One of the biggest ongoing challenges I’ve had as a founder is:
Our website still doesn’t do justice to what we actually do.

Every time I jump on a call with a new prospect, the same thing happens.
They say, “Oh wow - I didn’t realize how deep this goes.”

And that’s when I realize again: the visuals on our site just don’t capture it.

The moment they see inside a before-and-after Figma design from one of our onboarding revamps, or a real activation playbook - they instantly get it.

They see how much value actually comes out of these sprints. 

Not just pretty UX, but full product experiences redesigned around world-class activation.

It’s way more than “onboarding redesigns.”
It’s building the entire self-serve experience for first-time users.

And yet… that rarely comes across from the outside looking in.

I’ve been studying how other teams like Anthony and Rob from FletchPMM show their work - the before/after visuals, clear deliverables, and the way they walk you through what you actually get. It’s so well done.

So that’s my current project:
> Adding more visuals, walkthroughs, and real examples that show what our work actually looks like.

If you’re a founder or consultant, you probably know the feeling - that imbalance between how much depth you deliver and how simply it’s represented online.

I’m finally fixing that this month. 

Thank you Victoria Bakos for all the help! Super excited to share the new website soon!!

One of the clearest signs you’re working with a great team is the way they respond to bad results. 

Anyone can celebrate good results. But the best teams treat every experiment as part of the process, even when it doesn’t go the way you hoped. Learning is everything.

A small moment from working with the Freckle.io team really highlighted this for me.

A few months ago, we shipped a fully revamped onboarding flow. Before launch, they asked me what completion rate I’d expect. 

I said something like:
“Hard to benchmark, but I’d be disappointed with anything under 80%.”

Fast-forward a few months... the data comes in: 30%. 

I won’t lie, it hit me hard 😅 

I care a lot about what we deliver, and I care a lot about our clients.

But I also know this is how growth works. Sometimes you’re right and sometimes you learn the hard way.

Still… something didn’t feel right. 30% just didn’t match what we had built.

Then a couple weeks ago, Andy sent me a message:

"Turns out the old tracking wasn’t counting users who made it all the way through to the table view properly. Once we fixed that, completion jumped to 82.5%."

That obviously made my week. 
But honestly, the part that stayed with me wasn’t the better result, it was how the team reacted when we thought it was 30%.

There was zero blame. Just growth mindset and a keen energy to fix whatever was broken. 

That’s rare and a true testament to the culture Nathan and the team are building.

This is the kind of team you want to build with. This is the kind of team that is going to win BIG! 

It's already clear - Freckle’s growing over 240% month-over-month in signups, and they're just getting started! 🙌

If you’ve ever test-driven a car and suddenly couldn’t imagine giving it back…
you already understand why reverse trials work so well.

When Maja and I were writing our latest piece, we realized the real magic of reverse trials isn’t in the monetization model - it’s in the psychology behind it.

We went into the 4 biggest triggers that make it so powerful 👇

1️⃣ The Endowment Effect
> Once users “own” a premium feature, even temporarily, they value it far more.

↳That’s why free samples work in retail - and why SaaS users feel attached to features they’ve already used.

2️⃣ FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)
> When users see the premium side of your product in action, they don’t want to lose it.

↳ FOMO exists in B2B too lol.

3️⃣ Loss Aversion
> We hate losing more than we love gaining.

↳ Kyle Poyar shared his experience when he tried to downgrade from the premium plan:

"I went to cancel my Canva for Teams account today -- but Canva's cancellation flow was so good that I changed my mind. 
And, no, it wasn't because they made me jump through hoops.

1) They reminded me that I have an amazing deal. I still pay $12.95/month, but prices have increased to $29.99/month. I'll lose my deal if I cancel.
2) They created loss aversion by reminding me of the premium features I've put to use.
3) They made some clever UX choices that subtly influenced my decision."

↳ That’s not manipulation - that’s smart UX reinforcing real value.

4️⃣ Full Product Experience
> Reverse trials let users see everything your product can do before asking them to pay.

↳Would you buy a car without driving it first?

Reverse trials make users feel like the product is already theirs - and that’s the most powerful growth engine there is.

Read the full breakdown/guide below 👇

Took a step back to rethink content here on LinkedIn. Looks like it's paying off 🤯 If you're building in the SaaS and PLG space, we've got some killer content coming up:

More of the good stuff that folks are asking about:

- Behind-the-scenes of how we build world-class PLG self-serve onboarding and activation journeys for our client's at Valubyl 👏 

- Epic free assets like the Prompt Bar Journey Library (about to hit 100K hits 🔥) - see my post from last Wednesday. We're going to be releasing more libraries, breakdowns, and tons of assets from how we're building our PLG canvas V2.

- 3rd collab with Kyle Poyar for Growth Unhinged, wrapping up what's about to be the best guide out there for building AI prompt bar experiences 🤓 

... and lot's more.

See you around 👀

The Learning C - Retail, F&B, Apparel, Professional Services

Learning C Consulting is built on Content | Culture | Community | Collaboration

The Learning C was originally founded in 2017 as an entrepreneurial side project. However, 2020 was a year for change, innovation and entrepreneurial pursuits and when I worked on this full time. The Learning C was created with the intent of to offer progressive and innovative learning and development experiences with a focus on Content, Culture and Community.

Strategic projects include:
- Creating learning and development curricula and strategy based on organisation and people needs. 
- Developing collaborative and knowledge sharing cultures using Employee Experience and People Development strategies
- Using best practices to help companies leverage learning technologies to create virtual learning and collaboration environments
- Employee wellness initiatives

These strategic projects take into consideration the finer details such as:
- Instructional Design, Technical Writing and Learning Design models
- Consultations and Training Needs Analysis with competency gaps identifications 
- Train the trainer concepts
- Digital content development specific to preferred learning outcomes
- Learning Technologies such as LMS & LXP platforms, tools, and software
- Using business and people data to make decisions. Collaboration with business units is important to ensure long term success of any strategy

Learning Consultant

Coherent

Lead Coherent's learning to enable our People, Sales, Customers and Partners. Time to value and retention increased because of these learning initiatives.

Skills: LMS Implementation and roadmap planning, Digital Transformation, Learning Technologies, Platform Automations, Instructional Design, Technical Writing, Technical Communications, Digital Learning, Sales and Employee Learning & Development, Employee and Sales Enablement, User Experience, Customer  Experience, Leadership, Project Management, Product Management, Change Management.

Director - Community + Campus - Insurance and Professional Services

Leads Coherent Campus, Coherent's People, Customer and Partner online Learning portal and documentation. 
Skills: SME collaboration, content and document management, technical writing, instructional design, content development, project management

Customer & Partner Learning Consultant

Deacons

Hong Kong | London | Australia | New Zealand

Digital Transformation. Leveraging tech to meet goals.
The first to lead Deacons Academy strategy and the talent development team within Deacons offices. 
Fostered a learning culture and gained stakeholder buy-in for L&D initiatives
Successfully implemented Deacons first ever eLearning and LMS – Deacons Academy Online.

Increased overall learner engagement and participation by using internal marketing techniques and engagement surveys
Successfully developed and implemented the L&D framework and infrastructure using a comprehensive analysis to identify how to meet both people and business goals. 
Lead company training retreats for team work and collaboration building.
Designed, developed and delivered blended-medium L&D programs (eLearning, classroom) to improve employee competencies and meet regulatory requirements.
Engaged with industry experts to optimise the learning curriculum and outcomes. 
Worked cross-functional with HR, BD and IT in order to continuously identify and offer learning to all levels – using client requirements and performance management data etc.
Strived for continuous improvements and implemented internal policies and processes for increased efficiency and engagement.
Managed all RFP and vendor selections.
Reviewed and refined HR policies and procedures.
Managed the annual costings and budget planning for Deacons Academy.

Human Resources - Learning and Development Manager (digital)

Intuition

Hong Kong | Singapore | Australia | Europe

- Digital Learning & Development Consultant for cross industry projects - Financial, Insurance, Professional Services, Oil and Gas, Pharma, Consumer. 
- Digital Learning Solution and Strategy Creator
- Deploying and implementing learning portals to facilitate optimal virtual learning
- Advised clients on the optimal delivery mediums and tools for trainings – live digital, on-demand digital, mobile, gamification strategies, classroom, 1-1, performance support tools, self-created, blended etc.
- Focused on using the 70:20:10 learning model to create learning programmes.
- Utilised instructional design techniques to understand key learning objectives and to create learning programmes for diverse audiences located in multiple countries. 
- Collaborated with SMEs to co-develop training materials and documentation (technical writing)
- Overseeing client training strategies in the APAC and global regions, taking into consideration any localisation requirements
- Digital learning ROI and measurements
- Trainer: Instructional Design and Programme Design & Development Workshops
- Account Management & Customer Experience
- RFP responses
- Business Development - networking and local marketing communications initiatives

Head of Advisory APAC - Digital & LearnTech

My role involves using Instructional Design, Learning Strategies and Advisory in a Learning and Development environment to create optimal knowledge solutions and experiences for our corporate and public sector clients:
- Blended Learning Solutions (Classroom and Digital)
- Learning Experiences
- Bespoke eLearning
- Off the shelve eLearning 
- Localization of trainings
- Classroom materials
- Virtual classrooms& Webinars
- Gamification strategies
- Micro Learning/Learning Interventions
- Primer videos
- Learning Interventions
- Account management

Digital Learning Consultant - Hong Kong & Singapore

Hubbis

• Using Training Needs Analysis to help shape client expectations and experience to map these to a clear development plan and curriculum design
• Develop company and project specific Learning Design standards, style sheets, and guidelines
• Identify learner characteristics that will influence learning design decisions and plans 
• Write course learning objectives and sequence content for logical learning
• Choose learning strategies and delivery methods appropriate for the objectives and content
• Work with SMEs to design and write assessments 
• Ensure all instruction conforms to  Learning Design Standards and Guidelines
• Conduct reviews, to insure high quality instruction and adherence to standards and guidelines.
• Full LMS Administration and Management 
• Develop, write, and maintain documentation in support of all LMS processes and functions
• Suggest enhancements to course design and development processes, toolsets, strategies, etc.
• Liase with and monitor the technology team to complete tasks
• Point of contact for training, issues, inquiries or additional features on the LMS
• Managed the corporate YouTube account

Instructional Designer & LMS Manager - Finance Industry 

Avvio

*Award winning booking platform*
• Account management 
Social Media marketing
•Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) 
-Implement local and international SEO Strategies
-Monitor overall SEO program success with regard to keyword ranking, indexed pages, back-links etc
-Development of SEO friendly content
-Perform competitive analysis to help drive future SEO
-Liaise with web development team on new site developments and improvements
-Assist in link building and directory registrations

•Pay Per Click ( PPC)
-Working knowledge of Google Adwords
-Create, monitor and refine national and international PPC campaigns
-Working knowledge of social media, including setting up Twitter and Facebook accounts for clients
-Website Traffic Analysis using Google Analytics
-Assist in monthly reporting, ad hoc reports and preparation of presentations for Quarterly Business Reviews.

Digital Marketing Associate - Award winning booking platform in Travel and Leisure Industry

Citi

Securities Processor

SuperValu FMCG

Retail store
Customer Service
POS operations

Customer Service

Director, Customer and Partner Education @ Coherent | SaaS

As a learning and development leader, I understand the ever changing business environments and partner with key business stakeholders to create learning and development strategies to meet business and talent needs. I have successfully designed and developed sophisticated learning solutions while leveraging existing or implementing new technology resources.

With a deep foundation in instructional design and digital learning and development, I have broadened this experience by creating and managing end to end learning projects where by I utilize analytics to evaluate the effectiveness of the programmes and projects.

Taking a consultative approach I consider the full project scope including budget, TNA and available resources for successful delivery and ROI - technologies, vendor management, SMEs,  source documentation,  employee engagement initiatives, communication strategies, change management and people data/programme analytics.

Strengths: life long learner, strategic, collaborator, empathetic, positive, empowering,  entrepreneurial minded, commercially aware, future minded.

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Yaakov Carno

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