AI-powered retention platform for subscription businesses

Renumerate was an early-stage SaaS startup tackling subscriber churn in subscription businesses through AI-powered personalized incentives. I led design for an early startup's SaaS tool that helped businesses keep subscribers longer by offering personalized incentives.

April '25 - Oct '26

Myself, David Salinger (CEO), Tim Marks (CTO), Eng Team

THE OVERVIEW

PROBLEM

Subscription businesses lose a meaningful portion of revenue to churn. Yet most retention tools rely on generic discounts that treat every subscriber the same, offering little insight into why customers leave or how to respond effectively. This creates a gap between understanding churn and taking meaningful action to prevent it.

CONSTRAINTS & ambiguity

01
No existing product
There is no existing product, so the experience had to be designed from scratch. Started mapping out what the user journey should look like for both subscribers and business.
02
Test and learn quickly
03
Little to no user data
04
Small team
05
2 user groups

outcome

Shipped MVP retention system

• Cancel survey, business playbook, and subscriber incentive delivery flow

User behavior

• Cancel survey achieved a 100% completion rate with zero abandonment

Product improvements from beta feedback

• Simplified playbook steps
• Added incentive previews
• Improved dashboard clarity

Future foundation

• Personalization was rule-based but structured to evolve into AI-driven incentive matching

THE PROCESS

RESEARCH METHODS

  • Started with founder interviews from beta testers

  • Subscription business discovery

  • Research around churn

  • Competitive analysis

RESEARCH METHODS

  • Founder interviews from beta testers

  • Subscription business discovery

  • Research around churn

  • Competitive analysis

Insights

01

02

03

THE STRATEGY

Create a flexible incentive system instead of one-size-fits-all discounts

Rather than relying on generic discounts, I designed a workflow that allows businesses to define and manage different types of incentives.

This made it easier to tailor offers to different customer situations, instead of treating every subscriber the same.

Use rule-based logic as a starting point for personalization

Instead of jumping straight into AI, I introduced a rule-based system that businesses could configure and understand.

This allowed us to test and learn what works, while creating a structured foundation that could evolve into more intelligent personalization over time.

Redesign the cancel survey to capture clearer signals

I rethought the cancellation flow to go beyond a simple form and better capture why customers were leaving.

These signals helped inform how businesses respond in the moment, and created a stronger foundation for improving retention strategies moving forward.

Problem

Subscription businesses lose a meaningful portion of revenue to churn. Yet most retention tools rely on generic discounts that treat every subscriber the same, offering little insight into why customers leave or how to keep them engaged. This creates a gap between identifying churn and taking meaningful action to prevent it.

CONSTRAINTS & ambiguity

01
No existing product
There is no existing product, so the experience had to be designed from scratch. Started mapping out what the user journey should look like for both subscribers and business.
02
Test and learn quickly
03
Little to no user data
04
Small team
05
2 user groups

outcome

Shipped MVP retention system

• Cancel survey, business playbook, and subscriber incentive delivery flow

User behavior

• Cancel survey achieved a 100% completion rate with zero abandonment

Product improvements from beta feedback

• Simplified playbook steps
• Added incentive previews
• Improved dashboard clarity

Future foundation

• Personalization was rule-based but structured to evolve into AI-driven incentive matching

the design

I designed the experience to connect three key moments: understanding why users leave, translating that into actionable signals, and helping businesses respond with the right incentive.

BUSINESS EXPERIENCE

Designed tools for businesses to:

  • Understand churn signals

  • Configure retention strategies

  • Track performance

Focus visuals on:

  • Playbook

  • Dashboard

  • Incentive setup

Subscriber Experience

Designed the cancellation and retention flow:

• smart cancel survey to capture real reason(s) subscribers were leaving

• personalized incentive delivery

• decision moment UX

REFLECTION

Stepping into a Founding Product Designer role meant figuring things out beyond just the UI. I had to think about how product strategy and design come together while building something completely from scratch. At times, that felt overwhelming, especially in the beginning when I was trying to think too far ahead about what this could become.

Over time, I learned to take a step back and focus on what we could build right now, get it in front of users, and iterate from there. That shift helped me stay grounded and make real progress instead of getting stuck overthinking.

I also got a lot more comfortable working closely with business leaders to align on priorities, while making sure engineering was part of the process so what we designed could actually be built. This experience really shaped how I think about early-stage products, balancing long-term vision with what’s practical and focusing on moving forward rather than getting everything perfect upfront.

UP NEXT

ARTELI