The first observable action that shows a user reached the product’s core value.
<div class="stage"><div class="label">SIGNUP → FIRST VALUE</div><div class="dots"><div class="people">● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●</div><div class="gate">CORE<br>ACTION</div><div class="people active">● ● ● ●</div></div><div class="outcome"><span>SIGNED UP</span><span>ACTIVATED</span></div></div>.stage{position:relative;width:min(94vw,760px);height:min(88vh,310px);font:800 clamp(10px,max(3.4vmin,1vw),15px)/1.25 sans-serif}.stage *{box-sizing:border-box}.label{font-size:clamp(10px,max(3.4vmin,1vw),12px);letter-spacing:.1em;color:var(--muted)}.accent{color:var(--accent)}.pill{border:1.5px solid var(--fg);border-radius:999px;background:var(--surface);padding:.5em .8em}.hint{position:absolute;right:2%;bottom:0;font-size:clamp(10px,max(3.4vmin,1vw),12px);color:var(--muted)}.dots{position:absolute;inset:27% 3% 26%;display:flex;align-items:center;justify-content:space-between;gap:3%}.people{font-size:clamp(16px,5vmin,35px);letter-spacing:.1em;max-width:37%;line-height:1.5;color:var(--muted);animation:shift 4s infinite}.people.active{color:var(--accent);animation-delay:.2s}.gate{width:18%;aspect-ratio:1;display:grid;place-items:center;text-align:center;border:3px solid var(--fg);transform:rotate(-8deg);background:var(--accent-2);color:#211b19}.outcome{position:absolute;inset:auto 3% 8%;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;font-size:clamp(10px,max(3.4vmin,1vw),14px)}@keyframes shift{0%,25%{opacity:.35;transform:translateX(-8px)}45%,85%{opacity:1;transform:translateX(0)}100%{opacity:.35}}An activation event is an observable sign of first value, deeper than signup or an initial click. In a collaboration tool, finishing a document with a teammate might be more meaningful than merely creating one.
The demo highlights users who complete a core action. Compare later retention by cohort to choose a useful signal, while avoiding a causal claim from correlation alone.
Use it when replacing signup counts with a first-value measure for onboarding.