Pete explains that a conversion funnel is the steps from landing on a website to completing the company’s goal, such as signing up, entering an email, or making a purchase. He says small design changes can affect user behavior, and A/B tests can compare versions of a page to measure those effects.
Design Tips to Convert More Customers
Speaker
Pete Kuman, Optimizely co-founder, joins Y Combinator’s Design Review host to assess how startup websites guide visitors toward becoming customers.
Rivet’s homepage presents several competing actions, including starting a demo, signing up, opening the product, and viewing tutorials. The host finds it unclear who the product is for and what visitors should do. He recommends clarifying the audience and focusing the page on one clear next step.
Decoherence makes its AI video product easier to understand with visual examples, repeated calls to action, and a free trial that requires no credit card. Signing in with Google makes entry quick, but the host says the first project experience needs clearer guidance. He recommends mapping each funnel step, measuring drop-off, and removing steps before users reach the product’s value.
Solve Intelligence describes AI patent writing, but its demo is difficult to interpret and leaves questions about the intended users and what the product does. The host suggests focusing product videos on specific actions and adding evidence that the output can be trusted, such as usage or approved patents. A lengthy contact form may also make it harder for interested visitors to try the product.
InEvent makes booking a meeting straightforward with an email field, a clear call to action, and claims of 1.1 million events and more than 900 customer companies. However, the host finds the product description vague and says a ten-part auto-advancing slider makes key details easy to miss. He recommends stating the product’s purpose plainly, putting important features directly on the page, and keeping the call to action visible.
Takeaways
- Map the steps from a website visit to the product’s aha moment, then measure where visitors drop off.
- Give visitors a clear primary action so competing calls to action do not divide attention.
- Use product examples that show what the product does and help visitors understand who it serves.
- Reduce signup friction with a short path into the product and relevant existing login options.
- Build trust with specific customer evidence, especially when a product’s mistakes could be costly.
Mentioned in this talk
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What was claimed 10
- previously atPete Kuman previously at Optimizelyco-founder and CTO
“I was co-founder and CTO of Optimizely”
0:09inEnterprise SalesYouTube Verified2 sources· Talk
- featureOptimizely: Experimentation software that helps companies run A/B tests
“Optimizely builds experimentation software, among other things, and helps thousands of companies run A/B tests.”
YouTube Unverified1 source· Talk
- feature
Rivet: Open-source solution to deploy, scale, and operate multiplayer games“Open-source solution to deploy, scale, and operate your multiplayer game.”
YouTube Unverified1 source· Talk
- usesbeta signup form
“This is different, and I assume this is a Typeform. Yeah, powered by Typeform.”
YouTube Unverified1 source· Talk
- featureDecoherence: AI video generator
“AI video generator: bring any idea to life.”
YouTube Unverified1 source· Talk
- usesDecoherence uses
Googlelogin“So it's just a Google login.”
YouTube Unverified1 source· Talk
- featureSolve Intelligence: AI-assisted patent writing
“Write patents with AI. Get higher-quality patents in less time.”
YouTube Unverified1 source· Talk
- metricInEvent: 1.1 million events created
“They've created 1.1 million events, presumably with this software.”
YouTube Unverified1 source· Talk





