Sign-up flows: waitlist to trial

Sign-up flows take a person from the waitlist to an admitted trial and on to the first paid month. Joining costs $0, and each answer to them $0.04 (sample).

Waitlist to trialMode try

You, to your agent

Admit the next 20 people on the Leaseline waitlist and start their 14-day trials. Do not send.

curl -X POST https://api.sb/leaseline.app/waitlists/waitlist_1/join \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $STARTUP_BUILDER_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"email":"sam@kestrel.example"}'

curl -X POST "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/waitlists/waitlist_1/admit?mode=try" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $STARTUP_BUILDER_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"count":20}'

curl -X POST "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/offers/offer_1/trial?mode=try" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $STARTUP_BUILDER_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"customer":"customer_52","days":14}'

 1import { $ } from 'startup-builder'
 2
 3await $.Waitlist.join({ waitlist: 'waitlist_1', email: 'sam@kestrel.example' })   // a signup from the pricing Page
 4await $.Waitlist.admit({ waitlist: 'waitlist_1', count: 20 }, { mode: 'try' })   // the next 20, ranked by fit
 5return await $.Offer.trial({ offer: 'offer_1', customer: 'customer_52', days: 14 }, { mode: 'try' })   // Kestrel Rentals, 40 units
 6// 422 · Kestrel Rentals’ trial did not start: 14 free days without a card fall below the $29 Offer’s contribution floor.
 7// contribution-floor: Take a card up front, or shorten the trial to 7 days. · then Offer.trial

npx startup-builder do Waitlist.join --json '{"waitlist":"waitlist_1","email":"sam@kestrel.example"}'
npx startup-builder do Waitlist.admit --json '{"waitlist":"waitlist_1","count":20}' --try
npx startup-builder do Offer.trial --json '{"offer":"offer_1","customer":"customer_52","days":14}' --try

{
  "name": "do",
  "arguments": {
    "code": "await $.Waitlist.join({ waitlist: 'waitlist_1', email: 'sam@kestrel.example' })   // a signup from the pricing Page\nawait $.Waitlist.admit({ waitlist: 'waitlist_1', count: 20 }, { mode: 'try' })   // the next 20, ranked by fit\nreturn await $.Offer.trial({ offer: 'offer_1', customer: 'customer_52', days: 14 }, { mode: 'try' })   // Kestrel Rentals, 40 units\n// 422 · Kestrel Rentals’ trial did not start: 14 free days without a card fall below the $29 Offer’s contribution floor.\n// contribution-floor: Take a card up front, or shorten the trial to 7 days. · then Offer.trial",
    "mode": "try"
  }
}

Response422application/json

 1{
 2  "type": "https://startupbuilder.dev/errors/refused",
 3  "title": "Refused",
 4  "status": 422,
 5  "detail": "Kestrel Rentals’ trial did not start: 14 free days without a card fall below the $29 Offer’s contribution floor.",
 6  "checks": [
 7    {
 8      "check": "contribution-floor",
 9      "status": "fail",
10      "observed": "14 days, no card",
11      "doc": "/code/refusals#check-contribution-floor",
12      "fix": "Take a card up front, or shorten the trial to 7 days.",
13      "then": "Offer.trial"
14    }
15  ]
16}

sample

What it does

What you pay for	Price per unit (sample)	The call
A signup joined to the waitlist	$0	`POST /{namespace}/waitlists/{waitlist}/join`
A batch admitted	$0	`POST /{namespace}/waitlists/{waitlist}/admit`
A trial started	$0	`POST /{namespace}/offers/{offer}/trial`

Run it

Step	Call	What it does here
1	`POST /{namespace}/waitlists/{waitlist}/join`	a signup from the pricing Page
2	`POST /{namespace}/waitlists/{waitlist}/admit`	the next 20, ranked by fit
3	`POST /{namespace}/offers/{offer}/trial`	Kestrel Rentals, 40 units

422RefusedKestrel Rentals’ trial did not start: 14 free days without a card fall below the $29 Offer’s contribution floor.

Check	Fix	Then
`contribution-floor` fail	Take a card up front, or shorten the trial to 7 days.	`POST /{namespace}/offers/{offer}/trial`

JSON

{
  "type": "https://startupbuilder.dev/errors/refused",
  "title": "Refused",
  "status": 422,
  "detail": "Kestrel Rentals’ trial did not start: 14 free days without a card fall below the $29 Offer’s contribution floor.",
  "checks": [
    {
      "check": "contribution-floor",
      "status": "fail",
      "observed": "14 days, no card",
      "doc": "/code/refusals#check-contribution-floor",
      "fix": "Take a card up front, or shorten the trial to 7 days.",
      "then": "Offer.trial"
    }
  ]
}

It says no, says why, and names the fix.

Set it up

Check	On the day-0 Startup	Fix	Your time	Wait	Then
`contribution-floor`	fail	take a card up front, or shorten the trial to 7 days	5 min	none	`POST /{namespace}/offers/{offer}/trial`
`billing-connected`	fail	connect Stripe so every trial converts on a live charge	10 min	none	`POST /{namespace}/integrations/connect`
`approved-pages`	pass	your pricing Page states the trial terms	0 min	none	`POST /{namespace}/sites/{site}/publish`

Reference

The records

The Waitlist · sample

{
  "waitlist": {
    "$id": "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/waitlists/waitlist_1",
    "$type": "Waitlist",
    "invited": 20,
    "rank": "fit"
  }
}

The Lead the signup wrote · sample

{
  "lead": {
    "$id": "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/leads/lead_52",
    "$type": "Lead",
    "status": "new",
    "interest": "Kestrel Rentals: 40 units",
    "fit": "partial"
  }
}

Calls

Call	What it does	What else happens	Event
`POST /{namespace}/waitlists/{waitlist}/join`	Join adds a Lead to a Waitlist for an Offer that is not open to them.	—	`Waitlist.joined`
`POST /{namespace}/waitlists/{waitlist}/admit`	Admit releases Leads from a Waitlist to the Offer they waited for, in the order the Waitlist ranks them.	—	`Waitlist.admitted`
`POST /{namespace}/offers/{offer}/trial`	Trial starts a Customer on an Offer free for a set number of days, with or without a card, converting or ending by its terms.	With a card on file, converts to a paid Subscription at the end unless canceled first.	`Offer.trialed`

Events

Waitlist.joined · StartupBuilder-Signature

{
  "$id": "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/events/event_1",
  "$type": "Event",
  "name": "Waitlist.joined",
  "at": "2026-10-22T12:00:00Z",
  "seq": 1,
  "data": {
    "lead": {
      "$id": "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/leads/lead_1",
      "$type": "Lead",
      "status": "new"
    },
    "waitlist": {
      "$id": "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/waitlists/waitlist_1",
      "$type": "Waitlist",
      "invited": 1,
      "rank": "signup"
    }
  }
}

Waitlist.admitted · StartupBuilder-Signature

{
  "$id": "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/events/event_1",
  "$type": "Event",
  "name": "Waitlist.admitted",
  "at": "2026-10-22T12:00:00Z",
  "seq": 1,
  "data": {
    "leads": [
      {
        "$id": "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/leads/lead_1",
        "$type": "Lead",
        "status": "new"
      }
    ],
    "waitlist": {
      "$id": "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/waitlists/waitlist_1",
      "$type": "Waitlist",
      "invited": 1,
      "rank": "signup"
    }
  }
}

Offer.trialed · StartupBuilder-Signature

{
  "$id": "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/events/event_1",
  "$type": "Event",
  "name": "Offer.trialed",
  "at": "2026-10-22T12:00:00Z",
  "seq": 1,
  "data": {
    "subscription": {
      "$id": "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/subscriptions/subscription_1",
      "$type": "Subscription",
      "status": "active"
    },
    "offer": {
      "$id": "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/offers/offer_1",
      "$type": "Offer",
      "price": {
        "amount": 29,
        "currency": "USD"
      }
    }
  }
}

Refuses when

Check	Refuses	Fix	Then
`contribution-floor`	an Offer whose Price leaves less than the target margin after the median Customer’s cost	Raise the Price or lower the cost until the margin clears its target, then publish again.	`POST /{namespace}/offers/{offer}/publish`
`billing-connected` Not live yet · gaps #8 · today: The dry run renders from the sample; each check names the call that clears it.	a Customer-side Play with no live billing records	Connect Stripe so every charge and Meter reading is live.	`POST /{namespace}/integrations/connect`
`no-consent`	a send or Sequence step whose purpose the Contact has given no Consent for	Record the Contact’s yes, with where they gave it, before the first send.	`POST /{namespace}/consents`

422RefusedKestrel Rentals’ trial did not start: 14 free days without a card fall below the $29 Offer’s contribution floor.

Check	Fix	Then
`contribution-floor` fail	Take a card up front, or shorten the trial to 7 days.	`POST /{namespace}/offers/{offer}/trial`

JSON

{
  "type": "https://startupbuilder.dev/errors/refused",
  "title": "Refused",
  "status": 422,
  "detail": "Kestrel Rentals’ trial did not start: 14 free days without a card fall below the $29 Offer’s contribution floor.",
  "checks": [
    {
      "check": "contribution-floor",
      "status": "fail",
      "observed": "14 days, no card",
      "doc": "/code/refusals#check-contribution-floor",
      "fix": "Take a card up front, or shorten the trial to 7 days.",
      "then": "Offer.trial"
    }
  ]
}

It says no, says why, and names the fix.

422RefusedPinecrest Homes’ second visitor was not enrolled: no Consent on record for sales email.

Check	Fix	Then
`suppressed-contact` pass	—	`POST /{namespace}/collections/query`
`no-consent` fail	Record the Contact’s yes, with where they gave it, before the first send.	`POST /{namespace}/consents`

JSON

{
  "type": "https://startupbuilder.dev/errors/refused",
  "title": "Refused",
  "status": 422,
  "detail": "Pinecrest Homes’ second visitor was not enrolled: no Consent on record for sales email.",
  "checks": [
    {
      "check": "suppressed-contact",
      "status": "pass"
    },
    {
      "check": "no-consent",
      "status": "fail",
      "observed": "no Consent for purpose sales-email",
      "doc": "/code/refusals#check-no-consent",
      "fix": "Record the Contact’s yes, with where they gave it, before the first send.",
      "then": "Consent.create"
    }
  ]
}

It says no, says why, and names the fix.

Pauses when

Stop	Pauses when	Fix	Then
`kill-switch`	you press it, or the injection Stop fires	Review what fired, then turn the Process back on.	`POST /{namespace}/processes/{process}/enable`

Campaign.paused · kill-switch · Not live yet, gaps #2 · sample

{
  "$id": "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/events/event_951",
  "$type": "Event",
  "name": "Campaign.paused",
  "at": "2026-10-19T16:45:00Z",
  "data": {
    "campaign": {
      "$id": "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/campaigns/cold-email",
      "$type": "Campaign"
    },
    "reason": {
      "limit": "kill-switch",
      "observed": "pressed by worker_1",
      "bound": "off",
      "window": "now"
    }
  }
}

Plays that use it

Play	What it does	Its Metric
Product-led growth	Gives free Customers enough to reach the result twice, then shows the upgrade inside the task at the Limit, with the real Price.	`activation-rate`
Waitlist interviews	Interviews each Waitlist signup with your disclosed agent, admits by fit under a published cap, and sends a result built on their company.	`interview-activation-rate`
Positioning tournament	Tests three ways of saying what you do, as ads that differ in one phrase, and counts only signups that fit and act.	`qualified-signup-rate`
Agent-to-agent selling	Lets an agent open a working account in one call, locks its sends until a person claims it, then asks that person once to pay.	`claimed-paying-rate`

Metric it reaches: Activation rate (activation-rate).

Hub guides it deepens

On startupbuilder.dev	Id	What it holds
Lead	`noun:lead`	the record, its fields and every call on it
Analytics	`capability:analytics`	the System, its capability and its calls

Example

Leaseline, when	What happened	Cost (sample)
2026-10-19	20 admitted from a waitlist of 64	$0
2026-10-19	Kestrel Rentals starts a 7-day trial with a card on file	$0
day 8	Kestrel pays $29: +$347 ARR · n 1 · ■□□□ Too early to tell	$0.04 for its one answer

Compiled, not written: edit its page, then regenerate. Every step runs from a sentence or a line of code. In your words: the CRM words you know, and where each lives here.

What it doesCopy Anchor Link

Run itCopy Anchor Link

Set it upCopy Anchor Link

The recordsCopy Anchor Link

CallsCopy Anchor Link

EventsCopy Anchor Link

Refuses whenCopy Anchor Link

Pauses whenCopy Anchor Link

Plays that use itCopy Anchor Link

Hub guides it deepensCopy Anchor Link

ExampleCopy Anchor Link

Contents

What it does

Run it

Set it up

The records

Calls

Events

Refuses when

Pauses when

Plays that use it

Hub guides it deepens

Example