Lessons from PLG

October 09, 2025

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Most teams think going product-led is as simple as adding a “Start Free Trial” button.
You flip the switch, open the gates, and boom PLG.

Except it doesn’t work like that.

When the Navattic team transitioned to freemium, they learned the hard way that PLG isn’t just a feature, but a full-system redesign.

From onboarding to activation to sales handoffs, every piece must fit together seamlessly.

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Vibing While Designing

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Test small before you roll big

When Navattic first floated freemium, the biggest fear internally was cannibalizing their sales-led motion.
So instead of going all-in, they ran a UX-style experiment.

They launched a $50/month test plan, not free, just light friction. The idea: if users paying even a small amount couldn’t self-onboard, free users definitely wouldn’t.

They used Mutiny to show the offer to a fraction of website traffic, then scaled it gradually.

The first users? Brutally honest. But that feedback drove product fixes that lifted activation rates from 5% → 33%.

Lesson: Don’t flip the switch. Build your PLG engine in sandboxes. Test it like a UX experiment, not a growth campaign.

Test small before you roll big

Anchor users in the product

Navattic’s activation moment was simple: build and publish an interactive demo.
But users weren’t getting there.

PostHog sessions showed rage clicks and drop-offs right before the “aha” moment.

The fix wasn’t fancy.

They added a guided setup flow, a 4-step checklist that made success explicit.

Then they leveled it up: an AI copilot that completes 3 of those steps automatically.

All users need to do now is record their product; the AI builds the demo draft itself.

Result: activation up to 47%.

Lesson: Clarity beats creativity. When users don’t have context, over-explain the path to value. Make “what’s next” painfully obvious.

Set-up guide to clearly anchor users

Don’t chase every signup. Build a PQL system

Free signups are tempting, but chasing everyone burns your sales team fast.

Instead, Navattic built a Product-Qualified Lead (PQL) system.

They mapped user behavior, pricing page visits, feature exploration, usage spikes and piped those signals into Slack.

Sales only reached out when the intent was clear.

They also added contextual upgrade prompts in-app, turning those clicks into real-time intent signals for the team.

Result: better timing, better conversations, better close rates.

Lesson: Let your product do the talking. Design systems that surface intent, not just data.

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The PLG Shift

In nine months, Navattic’s freemium funnel transformed:

  • 37% of the inbound pipeline now comes from freemium

  • 50% of inbound revenue from those same leads

  • Overall inbound pipeline: 2x

  • Closed-won revenue: 1.8x

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Great design doesn’t happen alone.
Let’s talk strategy, UX, and the real stuff that moves metrics.

One session can save you 10+ design iterations later.

But the bigger picture is
PLG isn’t about removing humans.
It’s about designing a product that earns trust before sales ever step in.

Design isn’t about adding more. It’s about removing what doesn’t help.

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