The "Empty State" Problem: Calculating TTV for Blank Canvases

Tools like Notion, Figma, Tivalio, or Excel share a common measurement problem: The user starts with a blank screen.

• No data.
• No content.
• No history.

For these apps, TTV is infinitely long until the user creates something. And the biggest friction in "Canvas" apps is Creative Anxiety. "What do I type? Where do I start?"

Strategies to Shorten Empty State TTV

If you present a blank page, you are asking the user to do 100% of the work. Smart tools meet them halfway.

1. The Template Library (Notion Strategy)

Don't give me a blank page. Give me choices:

• "Meeting Notes"
• "Product Roadmap"
• "Personal Journal" Result: Value is instant. I just fill in the blanks.

2. Sample Data (Tivalio Strategy)

If your tool needs data to look good (like an analytics dashboard), a blank state looks broken. Pattern: "Don't have data yet? Click here to load Sample Data." Result: The user sees the beautiful charts immediately. They get the Idea of value, even if it's not their data yet.

3. The Import Wizard (Excel Strategy)

"Drag your CSV here." Make the migration from their old tool (or their brain) effortless.

Measuring TTV for Canvas Apps

Your TTV metric should not be Time to Login. It should be Time to First Creation.

• User logs in -> Stares at white void -> Leaves. (TTV: Failed).
• User logs in -> Clicks "Use Template" -> Edits Title. (TTV: 30 seconds).

The "Cold Start" Paradox

The more flexible your tool is (e.g., Notion), the harder the Cold Start is. The more opinionated your tool is (e.g., Linear), the easier the Cold Start is.

If you are building a flexible tool, you must artificially restrict the first experience to guide them.

• "Let's create your first task." (Ignore the other 50 features for now). Fill the void for them.