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# The retention flywheel: designing products people don’t want to leave


- **Date:** Friday, Jul 11, 2025
- **Time:** 09:00–09:30 (30 min)
- **Room:** Stage 1
- **Event:** World Congress 2025
- **Tags:** leadership, ui/ux

## Recording

[Watch recording](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1423-the-retention-flywheel-designing-products-people-don-t-want-to-leave)

## Description

Retention is the foundation of scalable growth, yet many companies prioritize acquisition over keeping users engaged. This session introduces the retention flywheel, a framework for designing products that drive long-term engagement, reduce churn and fuel sustainable growth.

Using real-world examples from companies like Slack and Notion, this session will provide actionable strategies to optimize the user journey and transform retention into a self-sustaining growth engine.

Key takeaways:
- Why retention is essential for sustainable growth.
- Practical frameworks for improving activation, engagement and expansion.
- How to create retention systems that evolve with user feedback.

Perfect for product leaders and tech professionals looking to design products users never want to leave.

## Speaker

### [Madalena Costa](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/@madalena-costa)

Madalena Costa, Lead Product Designer at Glanceable


## Related talks at this congress

- [The irresistible UX: the psychology of brainwaves and clickbait](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/events/world-congress-2025/sessions/698-the-irresistible-ux) — Dora Makszy
- [Breaking the Hardware Mindset: Overcoming Barriers to System-Level Innovation](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/events/world-congress-2025/sessions/908-breaking-the) — Réka Leisztner
- [Attract and Retain Talent: Strategies that Work](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/events/world-congress-2025/sessions/870-attract-and-retain) — Ana Gospodinova, Anastasia Pshegodskaya, Christine James, Luke Davis, Relinde Boerman
- [Thriving Is a Feature, Not a Bug: Wellbeing for the Future of Work](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/events/world-congress-2025/sessions/673-thriving-is-a) — Ute Neher