Vibe Decay: A Field Guide to How Projects Actually Die

Vibe decay originates in the gap between expectations and reality — but not the kind of gap that gets talked about in post-mortems. Founders build with a mental model of how adoption will unfold. Usually that model involves thousands of enthusiastic early users, rapid organic word-of-mouth, and a natural transition from "promising product" to "established tool" within the first year. The actual experience is typically dozens of curious explorers who never return, a handful of genuinely intereste