Ramen Road #5: When to Know It's Time To Move On

Welcome back to Ramen Road, where we analyze, comment and experiment with strategies to get traction in early-stage projects. Today we're tackling one of the toughest decisions a founder can face: knowing when to pivot or move on from a project.

🥢 Slurp-worthy Strategy of the Week: The Art of Letting Go

One of the hardest skills to develop as a founder is knowing when to persist and when to move on. While "never give up" makes for great motivational posters, the reality is more nuanced. Sometimes, the smartest move is knowing when to fold.

A Personal Journey: My Leefwork Story

I recently went through this with Leefwork, a plant journal app I developed. Despite my passion for the project and believing in its potential, it struggled to gain significant traction. However, what initially felt like a setback turned into an opportunity – I managed to sell the project, converting it into startup capital for my next venture.

Here are the key signals that helped me make this decision, along with insights from other founders who've been there:

1. The Numbers Don't Lie

You can’t fake product-market fit and your numbers will always tell the whole story. Track key metrics over 3-6 months:

• User growth rate

• User retention

• Revenue trajectory

• Customer acquisition cost

• Time investment vs. return

If these numbers consistently fall below your minimum viable metrics, it's time to reassess. After a couple of months I had zero retention, with no users choosing to extend their free trial. It was pretty evident that Leefwork wasn’t working

2. Market Response Is Lukewarm

Watch for these warning signs:

• Users understand the product but aren't excited

• High churn rates despite addressing feedback

• Difficulty finding product-market fit after multiple iterations

• Marketing efforts yield diminishing returns

Despite my marketing efforts, I wasn’t getting enough traffic, I hadn’t found channel-market fit and I wasn’t learning enough from my users.

Leefwork technically worked as an app, but it clearly wasn’t enough to satisfy users.

3. The Joy-to-Effort Ratio Is Off

Consider these emotional indicators:

• You've lost enthusiasm for your work sessions.

• Problem-solving feels like a burden rather than a challenge

• You're more excited about other project ideas

• The project feels like an obligation rather than an opportunity

This is probably one of the biggest indicators of wanting to move on. Life is too short, you shouldn’t spend it on something you aren’t enjoying and isn’t generating any other benefit.

I ended up hating having to work on Leefwork - I was exhausted and couldn’t find a single feature that really excited me.

Making the Transition

If you decide to move on, consider these options:

1. Sell the project: Like I did with Leefwork, you might find buyers interested in your codebase, user base, or domain. You can even use it as starting capital for your next project.

2. Open-source it: Let the community benefit from your work

3. Put it in maintenance mode: Keep it running with minimal updates

4. Clean shutdown: Close it properly, communicating clearly with users

What I Learned from Leefwork

The key lesson wasn't in the failure but in the pivot. By selling Leefwork, I:

• Recovered some of my investment

• Gained valuable insights about the market

• Secured capital for my next venture

Sometimes, what feels like a dead end is actually a detour to something better.

🍥 Startup Showcase: Fresh Flavors in the Tech Scene

DocTao

• Creator: Michael Adrian (@Michael_AdrianT)

• Description: Organize, search, and access all your documents in one place,

• Noteworthy: it’s still in alpha, but it looks awesome for people that have to deal with way too many documents.

Pabble.io

• Creator: Azfar (@itzazfar)

• Description: Amplify SaaS conversions with behavior-driven email automation

• Noteworthy: it’s like Customer.io but focused on conversion and built by a member of the community.

🥡 Takeaway Challenge

This week, honestly evaluate your current project:

1. Write down your key metrics

2. Set clear "move on" triggers

3. List potential pivot options

4. Calculate your opportunity costs

Share your analysis with us – sometimes an outside perspective helps clarify the path forward.

Best of luck with your week!

Your chef,

Clemente from Ramen Road