After expanding the product (content + community + mentors), revenue increased, but product usage declined:
→ users didn’t activate into full value
→ engagement was inconsistent
→ retention started dropping
сontext
the core issue wasn’t acquisition — it was activation and daily usage
Designing a Telegram Mini App
to drive activation and retention
in a subscription product
Problem
  1. The user experience was fragmented across multiple tools:
  • Telegram chat (low signal, inactive users)
  • Airtable database (outdated, no privacy)
  • external Random Coffee bot (no control, no filtering)
  1. Users didn’t perceive networking as a structured, valuable feature
  2. The product felt scattered and hard to navigate
Insight
Users already lived inside Telegram, but:
  • activation required switching contexts
  • key features were not embedded in daily workflows
  • networking had high friction and low trust

→ Engagement required bringing the product into users' existing environment
My Role
Product Designer (end-to-end):
  • UX architecture & flows
  • onboarding design
  • interaction design (networking, matching)
  • information architecture
  • usability testing
  • collaboration with PM & dev
constraints required designing a lean but scalable solution
no resources for full standalone platform
imited dev capacity
dependency on Telegram ecosystem
solution
Design a Telegram Mini App as a lightweight product layer inside an existing user environment
1
Reduce activation friction
2
Build daily engagement loops
3
Turn networking into a structured product experience
1
Embedded onboarding → activation control
  • onboarding moved into Telegram bot
  • mandatory steps guide users into mini app
  • partial access model: no profile → no networking access
→ ensured users reach activation milestone
2
Profile system as UX + data layer
Designed structured profile
  • professional attributes (role, industry, level)
  • goals & value exchange
  • editable anytime
  • progressive completion
Enabled:
  • filtering
  • matchmaking
  • segmentation
Key Design Decisions
3
Mini App → central hub
Unified access to:
  • networking
  • knowledge base
  • mentors
  • offers
→ replaced fragmented experience with a single entry point
4
Networking as a core UX scenario
Instead of "chat", designed structured discovery:
  • filters (industry, role, city)
  • search
  • favorites
  • direct messaging
  • privacy control
→ turned networking
into a usable tool, not noise
5
Random Coffee → controlled matching
Redesigned matching logic:
  • weekly matches
  • user preferences
  • visibility of available pool
→ reduced randomness, increased perceived value
6
Retention through native behavior
  • Telegram-based access (no extra login)
  • persistent entry point
  • lightweight interactions
→ aligned product with daily habits
Metrics impacted
50% of users activated the mini app
30% cited it as a reason to subscribe
increased daily engagement via Telegram touchpoints
reduced friction in activation flow
increased perceived value of subscription
fraud and unauthorized access rate
bonus!
Results
Turned community
into a productized experience
created foundation for future ecosystem growth
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