The problem
Most new coaches who signed up never asked FootballGPT anything. Coaches who ask a question get value. Coaches who don't leave.
New sign-ups who asked a question on day one
What I found
The fall came in two steps, and each matched a change to the first screen. A new dashboard replaced the old home screen on 10 and 11 September. A second change to the first-use flow followed on 23 and 24 September.
It was not a traffic problem. The fall showed in every group of new coaches I checked. The timing was a strong lead, not proof, so I tested it.
What I did
I ran a 50/50 test. Half of new coaches went straight to the chat. The other half got the dashboard.
New accounts who asked a question on day one
112 new accounts. A small test, so I stopped it early only because the gap was large.
What changed
I made chat the first screen for every new account, then for every type of user the next day. I fixed two smaller problems in the same pass: the chat tab kept disappearing when a coach returned, and accounts that had never sent a message still saw the dashboard.
I read the full effect from 12 October, once a week of new accounts has gone through the new flow.