Vittorio Esposito

We launched our product and immediately started running paid ads. We got signups, but they weren't sticking. We were just buying churn.

So, we stopped all ads for a week and manually called every new user who signed up. We discovered a core feature was confusing for 80% of them. We fixed the onboarding flow to highlight that feature first.

The result? Our organic word-of-mouth took off, and we cut our customer acquisition cost by over 60% without spending a dime more on marketing. Listening was our best growth hack.

If you have an idea, prototype, or half-built MVP, contact me: https://vittorioexp.dev

We spent two weeks building a complex onboarding flow based on customer interviews. The first user test revealed a critical flaw we'd all missed. Instead of defending the work, we scrapped it and built a simpler, text-based version in a single afternoon. The next five testers completed it effortlessly.

That was the moment I stopped treating iterations as code refinements and started treating them as learning cycles. The goal isn't to perfect a feature, but to validate or invalidate a hypothesis as cheaply as possible. We now aim for a 48-hour build-to-feedback loop, which has cut our time-to-market for new features by ~40%.

If you have an idea, prototype, or half-built MVP, contact me: https://vittorioexp.dev

We built a feature-rich MVP for a B2B SaaS tool, but user onboarding was complex. Instead of guessing, we manually onboarded the first 10 pilot customers ourselves. This exposed a critical, non-obvious friction point in the initial data import step.

We immediately stripped the product back to a single core workflow focused on solving that one import problem perfectly. The result was a 35% increase in user activation. We achieved fit not by adding more, but by removing everything that wasn't essential to that first "aha" moment.

If you have an idea, prototype, or half-built MVP, contact me: https://vittorioexp.dev

A technical cofounder I worked with was burning out, silently taking on too much to avoid "failing" the team. The tension was palpable, but we only addressed it during a scheduled weekly sync that wasn't just about tasks.

We shifted the first 10 minutes of that meeting to a strict "how are you *really* doing?" check-in, with no work talk allowed. This created a safe space to voice frustrations early. The result was a 30% reduction in last-minute "blockers" as issues were surfaced proactively, not post-crisis.

If you have an idea, prototype, or half-built MVP, contact me: https://vittorioexp.dev

We built a feature-rich MVP, but signups stalled. Instead of guessing, we manually onboarded our first 10 users via LinkedIn DMs. We watched them use the product on a shared screen.

This revealed they only used one core feature. We stripped everything else, rebuilt the landing page around that single "aha" moment, and automated its delivery. This single change increased our activation rate by over 30%.

If you have an idea, prototype, or half-built MVP, contact me: https://vittorioexp.dev

I once worked with a founder who spent months building a feature-rich MVP. We then created a simple landing page describing just one core feature and ran targeted ads. The page had a "Request Early Access" button—no product behind it.

We drove $200 in targeted traffic. The conversion rate told us everything: 12% signed up, showing clear demand for that single problem-solution fit. We immediately pivoted development to focus exclusively on that feature, saving months of wasted effort.

This fake-door test is my go-to. It provides a clear, quantitative signal before a single line of code is written for a full build.

If you have an idea, prototype, or half-built MVP, contact me: https://vittorioexp.dev

A founder was tracking vanity metrics like total sign-ups, but their activation rate was stuck at 15%. We shifted focus to the single action that defined a "successful" user—completing a profile. We instrumented the app to track only this funnel.

By analyzing drop-off points, we simplified the onboarding flow from five steps to three. We then A/B tested the new flow, leading to a direct 22% increase in weekly active users, as more people reached the core product value.

Focusing on one core metric exposes what truly drives growth.

If you have an idea, prototype, or half-built MVP, contact me: https://vittorioexp.dev

A founder obsessed with user signups was puzzled by low retention. We ignored vanity metrics and focused on the core action: users creating their first project. The data showed a 40% drop-off during onboarding.

We simplified the initial project setup from a 5-step wizard to a single input field. This single change increased users completing their first project by 22% in two weeks, directly improving week-one retention.

Stop tracking everything. Find the one action that correlates with long-term value and obsess over it.

If you have an idea, prototype, or half-built MVP, contact me: https://vittorioexp.dev

A founder was manually tracking user onboarding in spreadsheets, missing early drop-off signals. We integrated a lightweight analytics event on their signup form to track progress through the first three key actions.

This revealed a 28% drop-off at the second step due to a confusing API key field. We simplified the label and added a help tooltip. The next cohort saw a complete elimination of that specific friction point, improving initial activation.

If you have an idea, prototype, or half-built MVP, contact me: https://vittorioexp.dev

I’ve seen too many repos with API keys hardcoded.
For MVPs, use environment variables + a secrets manager (Vercel, Netlify, GitHub Actions).
Takes minutes to set up, prevents hours of headaches.
Security doesn’t have to be complicated, just not careless.