I think you're missing it. This was not heavily promoted, but in testing or beta if ANYTHING you don't tell the people you're just testing. It ruins results and feedback.
Your last comment also shows a misunderstanding of where this company is. Subscription growth / client acquisition is NOT where this company is. Like it or not , this is all about testing and refining. Testing the product, technology, user base reaction, etc. then refine. Rinse , repeat. That's how smart businesses grow.
ALL successful businesses do this before prior to scaling. You almost never scale and refine simultaneously. You may not like those answers, but that's the truth about new business in general especially when pioneering a relatively new industry.