14–21 July 2026 · sources: session replays (n=214), churn interviews (n=9), funnel data (30 days) · author: research agent, reviewed by Sara L.
TL;DR
Most drop-off happens at the empty workspace, not at signup. Users who
create anything within 10 minutes retain at 3× the rate of those who
don't – and the single biggest blocker is not knowing what a good first
project looks like.
Findings
1. The empty state is the cliff
62% of users who churn in week one never created a project. Replays
show a median 47 seconds on the empty workspace before exit – most
never open the create dialog. Confidence: high (replays + funnel)
2. Examples beat instructions
Users who opened the sample project were 2.4× likelier to create
their own within the session. Only 18% found it – it sits behind an
unlabeled icon. Confidence: high (funnel)
3. "Set up later" is a myth
Of users who skipped workspace setup intending to return, 9% ever
did. Interviewees described the skip as "quietly deciding no".
Confidence: medium (interviews, n=9)
Source sheet
Source
Coverage
Reliability
Session replays, 14–21 Jul
214 new-user sessions
High – full sample of the week
Churn interviews
9 users, churned within 14 days
Medium – self-selected responders
Funnel data
30 days, all signups
High – instrumented events
Recommendations
Replace the empty workspace with a guided "create from example" state (finding 1, 2).
Label the sample project and move it into the first-run path (finding 2).
Treat setup-skip as a churn signal and trigger the day-2 email (finding 3).