Scaling Dhyana: From 500 to 50K

Dhyana, a product by Avantari Technologies, is a smart ring that tracks the effectiveness of meditation sessions using Heart Rate Variability (HRV). Despite early adopters purchasing the product, I noticed many users didn’t fully understand its value. My goal was clear: to simplify the messaging to improve the experience of existing users while driving a broader adoption.

MY ROLE

I led the initiative to analyze app data and pinpoint improvement opportunities, focusing on both the app and the website. Collaborating with my colleague Devprakash, we conducted user interviews, designed prototypes, and completely restructured the onboarding process to better showcase Dhyana’s value.

RESULTS

Within a year, our efforts brought significant growth:

- User base grew from fewer than 500 to over 50,000.
- Customer acquisition costs dropped as ads became more effective.
- User registration rate increased by 20% following onboarding updates.
- Bounce rate reduced by 50% after the website redesign.

“Her creativeness and innovative ideas are her real assets.”

Bhairav shankar

CEO, Avantari Technologies

Uncovering the Problem

THE CHALLENGE

Most purchases were happening through word of mouth, often through connections of the founder or current users. Public messaging alone wasn’t conveying the product’s key function—evaluating meditation sessions, making it hard for potential customers to understand its value. Convincing people to try the ring was also challenging, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, when physical demos were not possible.

The "Mindful Minutes" Misconception

In a conversation with a customer, I learned that even buyers of the ring misunderstood its main feature—"mindful minutes." They thought it referred to the total time spent meditating, but it actually tracks specific moments of calm and focus. Further user interviews with my colleague Dev confirmed this confusion was widespread, reducing the perceived value of Dhyana and limiting its adoption.

the drop-off issue

By analyzing funnel charts using Firebase event tracking, I noticed many users dropped off at the registration screen. A heuristic evaluation revealed several issues, including unnecessary input fields, the lack of a third-party sign-up option, and not enough information about the app’s value before requiring sign-up.

Tracking Heart Rate with Your Phone

To expand our market reach, we implemented two key strategies:

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Trial Experience with Phone Camera

We allowed potential users to experience Dhyana’s core feature—meditation tracking—by using their phone’s camera to monitor heart rate, eliminating the need to buy the ring upfront. This positioned the ring as a premium option for a more refined and accurate experience.

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Trial Experience with Phone Camera

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Trial Experience with Phone Camera

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Onboarding Redesign

We overhauled the app’s onboarding flow. Instead of requiring registration immediately, we offered a trial session first. Users could experience Dhyana’s benefits before committing, with registration only needed for detailed reports.

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Onboarding Redesign

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Onboarding Redesign

Key Features

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Experience First, Commit Later

We introduced a phone-camera-based trial session, allowing users to try Dhyana’s core features before committing. At the start and end of each session, we recommended the ring as the premium upgrade for enhanced tracking.

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Experience First, Commit Later

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Experience First, Commit Later

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Clear, Bite-Sized Info

On app launch, we added short snippets to explain what the app and ring do. We also clarified "mindful minutes" as moments of calmness, and updated the data visualization to indicate it as a part of the meditation duration, making the product’s value clearer from the get-go.

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Clear, Bite-Sized Info

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Clear, Bite-Sized Info

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Simplified Sign-Up

Sign-up was updated to be required only required for accessing personalized scores. This, along with third-party sign-up options and a simpler manual registration process, reduced friction for new users.

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Simplified Sign-Up

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Simplified Sign-Up

Updating the Product Pitch and Website

In addition to the app, I updated Dhyana’s online presence. This included revamping the website, app store listings, and third-party seller pages.

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Retail Sites & App Stores

I refined the product title from “Dhyana” to "Dhyana - A Meditation Tracker" to communicate the value clearly. I updated the product imagery on Amazon and Ebay, and tested different Play Store screenshots to see which drove the highest conversions.

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Retail Sites & App Stores

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Retail Sites & App Stores

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Retail Sites & App Stores

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Website Redesign

I led the website redesign to reflect our change in product pitch. Using Hotjar analytics, I tracked user behavior on the website, iterating the design until we saw a 50% reduction in bounce rates while maintaining the engagement rate with the CTA.

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Website Redesign

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Website Redesign

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Website Redesign

The Results

These changes had an immediate impact. By clarifying the product's core value and providing users with a trial experience, we significantly improved user engagement and reduced drop-off rates. The website redesign also contributed to a smoother customer journey.

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User Base Growth

Dhyana’s user base surged from fewer than 500 to over 50,000 in just one year.

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User Base Growth

Dhyana’s user base surged from fewer than 500 to over 50,000 in just one year.

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User Base Growth

Dhyana’s user base surged from fewer than 500 to over 50,000 in just one year.

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User Base Growth

Dhyana’s user base surged from fewer than 500 to over 50,000 in just one year.

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Reduced Customer Acquisition Costs

The user base surged from fewer than 500 to over 50,000 within a year, significantly increasing product visibility and engagement.

savings

Reduced Customer Acquisition Costs

The user base surged from fewer than 500 to over 50,000 within a year, significantly increasing product visibility and engagement.

savings

Reduced Customer Acquisition Costs

The user base surged from fewer than 500 to over 50,000 within a year, significantly increasing product visibility and engagement.

savings

Reduced Customer Acquisition Costs

The user base surged from fewer than 500 to over 50,000 within a year, significantly increasing product visibility and engagement.

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Boosted Registrations

A 20% increase in registrations followed the onboarding revamp, allowing more users to engage deeply with the product.

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Boosted Registrations

A 20% increase in registrations followed the onboarding revamp, allowing more users to engage deeply with the product.

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Boosted Registrations

A 20% increase in registrations followed the onboarding revamp, allowing more users to engage deeply with the product.

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Boosted Registrations

A 20% increase in registrations followed the onboarding revamp, allowing more users to engage deeply with the product.

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Bounce Rate Reduction

The website redesign led to a 50% reduction in bounce rates, encouraging deeper exploration of Dhyana’s offerings.

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Bounce Rate Reduction

The website redesign led to a 50% reduction in bounce rates, encouraging deeper exploration of Dhyana’s offerings.

exit_to_app

Bounce Rate Reduction

The website redesign led to a 50% reduction in bounce rates, encouraging deeper exploration of Dhyana’s offerings.

exit_to_app

Bounce Rate Reduction

The website redesign led to a 50% reduction in bounce rates, encouraging deeper exploration of Dhyana’s offerings.

Learnings

Unlocking Dhyana’s true value through clear communication was key to driving engagement and expanding our market reach. However, this process came with challenges. Initial missteps in the onboarding redesign taught me the importance of thorough testing. I also learned to empathize with cross-functional teams, balancing their timelines, requirements, and constraints to achieve our goals.