When people think about startups, they often think about features.
More pages. More tools. More integrations. More dashboards.
But after building ViaConecta — a global eSIM platform for travelers — I learned that growth often comes from removing things, not adding them.
Travelers Don’t Want Features. They Want Resolution.
A traveler landing in a new country usually wants one thing:
Internet. Now.
They don’t care about your roadmap.
They don’t care about your architecture.
They don’t care how clever your onboarding flow is.
They want the problem solved in under 60 seconds.
That changes how you build products.
Every Extra Step Is Expensive
At first, many startup flows feel “reasonable”:
- Create account
- Verify email
- Choose country
- Compare plans
- Add billing info
- Confirm password
- Login again
But for someone in an airport with 8% battery and no data, this is a disaster.
So we started removing steps.
What We Changed
We launched a faster buying flow:
- Choose destination
- Select plan
- Enter email
- Pay
- Receive eSIM instantly
No forced registration.
Accounts can happen in the background later.
That one shift changed how we think about product design.
Simplicity Builds Trust
Many founders think trust comes from adding more text, badges, and explanations.
Sometimes trust comes from clarity:
- clear pricing
- fast checkout
- clean interface
- immediate delivery
- no surprises
Users feel when something is easy for the right reasons.
Startups Overbuild Too Early
A lot of early-stage founders (myself included) spend time building systems nobody asked for.
The better question is:
What can I remove today that increases conversions tomorrow?
Final Thought
People rarely remember how many features your startup had.
They remember whether it worked when they needed it most.
That’s the standard we’re trying to build toward with ViaConecta.
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