A lot of people think about user activation as a single “aha” moment. 

Many of those same product-led growth (PLG) companies are feeling growth stagnate… signups not converting, data everywhere but answers nowhere, and can’t quite put their finger on why.

Nobody knows the PLG space better than Rodrigo Fernandez, and he’s convinced a huge part of the problem is this: activation is broken. Not because teams don’t care, but because no one really owns it.

Read more ⬇️

In this edition:

• Activation is broken: why most SaaS teams get it wrong
• Live webinar: Making paid ads profitable again
• This week’s silo-smashing GTM reads

🎥 Most teams get activation wrong. Here’s how to fix it.

Rodrigo Fernandez, ProductLed

“Ninety-seven percent of companies do not make it to twenty million in ten years. If activation was easy, we would have million dollar companies.”

👉 Watch the full episode: https://youtu.be/EHb8Ar34XFg

Why this conversation matters

Rodrigo has worked with more than 400 SaaS companies and helped drive over $1B in self-serve revenue. Across all of them, he sees the same pattern repeat:

• Activation is treated like a single aha moment
• It’s defined by committee instead of a single owner
• And it’s measured with metrics that don’t reflect real value

The result? Teams argue about definitions while growth quietly stalls.

Activation isn’t a moment but an equation

One of my favorite metaphors from the episode is Rodrigo’s “solar system” analogy.

Activation isn’t a single click or event. It’s a set of critical outcomes users must reach to perceive value. Those outcomes are the planets. The steps between them are the journey.

If users never reach the planets, it doesn’t matter how busy the journey looks.

Why tracking more data doesn’t help

Rodrigo sees this constantly with product analytics tools:

“They just [track] whatever is on the screen. That never works. It just creates a ton of noise.”

Instead of tracking everything, he recommends starting with value, mapping the journey, and instrumenting only the events that prove progress.

And yes… AI can make it worse

One of the most surprising moments: a company added AI and saw activation drop by 20%.

The AI didn’t reduce friction or speed up value. It made the product feel bloated.

If AI doesn’t get users to value faster, it probably doesn’t belong in the activation flow.

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👉 Read the full playbook

📚 Related reading

A few smart reads to dig deeper into user activation.

• 3 SaaS Experiments to Boost Activation (ProductLed)
• How to Boost SaaS Growth with PQL Scores and Activation Strategy (Databox)
• How to Use Email to Improve Your Onboarding Activation Rate (Databox)

🌟 Live webinar: making paid ads profitable again

If running paid ads feels harder than ever, you’re not imagining it.

In our upcoming live session, Devin Littlefield (CEO at MarketVantage) will break down how top B2B teams are reducing ad spend while improving lead quality.

In 45 minutes, you’ll learn how to:

• Build a channel mix that actually works for B2B in 2026
• Boost lead quality by tightening your targeting
• Run the real math behind profitable ads
• Spot and plug waste in your current campaigns
• Expand revenue inside existing accounts
• Use Databox to monitor CPL, CAC, and ROI in one place

💰 The goal: ads that actually drive profit, not panic.

👉 Register here: https://databox.com/webinar-making-paid-ads-profitable-again

🤝 This week’s silo-smashing GTM reads

Share with a colleague and tear down those walls!

• How to show up in AI search results (StoryArb)
• How to optimize for AI search results in 2026 (Semrush)
• 42 Experts Name the Most Important Content Marketing Trends for 2026 (Content Marketing Institute)

🤝 How’d we do?