Open Onboarding
Advertising platforms that allow anyone to create accounts and explore without gatekeeping
Allowing anyone to create an advertiser account and explore the platform without special approvals or conversations. Standard in traditional advertising (Google Ads, Facebook Ads) but less common in web3.
Why It Matters
Open onboarding signals platform maturity and product confidence. It removes unnecessary friction and allows advertisers to evaluate capabilities, inventory, and pricing before committing.
Even platforms with advertiser verification requirements can offer open account creation for exploration and testing.
Red Flags
Platforms requiring special access, approval conversations, or "having the right relationship" before account creation often indicate limited inventory, immature product, or poor product-market fit.
Quality platforms should be confident enough in their offerings to allow transparent evaluation.
Correlation with Quality
Open onboarding often correlates with better platform quality—networks confident in their value proposition, publisher relationships, and advertiser standards don't need gatekeeping to maintain quality.