We removed the signup form. Activation went up 22%.

We had a standard signup: email, password, confirm password, company name, role. 5 fields, 1 button.

We tested a version with no form at all — just a single "Continue with email" button that created the account immediately and asked for nothing. Users could add a password and name later, inside the product, when they had a reason to.

Results over 4 weeks and 9,200 visitors:
Standard form: 41% completed signup
No-form version: 63% completed signup
Activation within 7 days: 29% vs 51%

The form was not protecting us. It was filtering out people who had not yet decided. By letting them in first and asking later, we let the product make the argument instead of the form.

The part that surprised us: users who skipped the password step and set one later had the same retention as users who set one at signup. The password was never the commitment. The first real action was.

What are you asking for before your users have any reason to give it?