I made membership optional
+35% · new buyer conversion
Membership was mandatory. I made it optional. Conversion rose 35%. Revenue rose 10% too.
The problem
Outschool required membership to buy a class. The theory was that membership added value. The data suggested it mostly added friction.
Undoing it meant reversing a decision the company had already committed to. It was an incredibly complex cross-functional decision that impacted every team at the company.
What I did
Shifted the model from mandatory membership to optional. Reintroduced a la carte purchasing across web and mobile. Built clearer measurement around monetization so the bet could be judged honestly.
The tradeoff was short-term revenue predictability vs. long-term growth. I made the case and owned it.
What moved
New buyer conversion rose 35% and total payments rose 10% YoY.
The lift in these numbers among several other guardrail metrics confirmed our membership product was net friction.