Tech hardware innovation: the problem isn’t acquisition, it’s onboarding

Written by Emeline Mettavant, Director The Value Engineers.

Over the last few years, I’ve worked across categories, from fitness tech to gaming and entertainment, and I keep hearing consumers ask the same question: “Where do I start?”

That question has made me wonder whether many companies are solving their growth issues in the wrong way.

When brands want to grow, the instinct is usually to focus on acquisition: more awareness, more reasons to buy, more persuasive marketing.

Of course, acquisition and adoption journey matters. But what if people are already interested? What if the biggest barrier isn’t convincing them to enter the category, but helping them understand how?

That’s not an acquisition problem, it’s an onboarding problem.

When I worked on strategy with Zwift, this became very apparent. The opportunity wasn’t simply to persuade more people that indoor cycling was enjoyable or effective. Plenty of road cyclists already believed that. The challenge was getting them to their first ride.

For years, joining Zwift meant navigating a world of mechanical and technical know-how before you’d even pedalled a virtual kilometre.

The biggest growth opportunity wasn’t to convince new people to start indoor cycling, it was to help them get on a journey into the product.

Zwift Ride represented a different way of thinking. Rather than adding another piece of hardware, it simplified the path into the ecosystem. Fewer decisions. Fewer dependencies. Less expertise required before experiencing the value of the platform.

The innovation wasn’t just the bike. It was the onboarding.

I’ve noticed the same pattern in other Hardware categories.

Meta Quest didn’t just make VR better. It removed the gaming PC, external sensors and cable spaghetti that made becoming a VR user feel like an enthusiast hobby.

Steam Deck didn’t just create another gaming device. It made PC gaming feel much closer to the simplicity of picking up a console and pressing play.

DJI didn’t just improve drones. It redesigned the first flight through automatic take-off, return-to-home and intelligent flight modes, making aerial photography accessible to people who had never flown before.

These companies weren’t just asking: “How do we build a better product?”. They were asking: “How do we make it easier to have a first successful experience?”

That’s a subtle but important shift.

Most Tech companies think onboarding begins once someone has bought the product. I think it begins much earlier. It begins the moment someone decides they might want to enter the category.

Acquisition creates intent; onboarding turns that intent into action.

And I can’t help wondering how many categories are spending millions acquiring customers, while leaving them to figure out where to start.