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  "slug": "switching-cost-kills-momentum-before-product-fit",
  "title": "Switching cost kills momentum before product fit",
  "summary": "Migration anxiety can overpower a strong product case long before buyers say so directly. In the current 334-company cohort, 56 of 334 companies made it the main blocker, while 254 of 334 showed at least one public signal for it.",
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  "publishedAt": "2026-04-28",
  "tags": [
    "switching",
    "friction"
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      "name": "Ivan Golovach",
      "title": "Founder and brief lead",
      "summary": "Ivan Golovach built and operates the CitrusGate workflow, holds the release stop-line on the private memo, and answers fit questions directly. The service is sold on inspectable work, clear boundaries, and one accountable operator."
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        "The first commercial product is the fixed-scope Decision Friction Brief."
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        "Private data bundles, admin routes, and raw company-level research stay out of the public layer.",
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  "timestamps": {
    "machineGeneratedAt": "2026-05-02T21:38:17Z",
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  "body": "# Switching cost kills momentum before product fit\n- Published: 2026-04-28\n- Tags: switching, friction\n- Canonical: https://archive.citrusgate.com/notes/switching-cost-kills-momentum-before-product-fit\nMigration anxiety can overpower a strong product case long before buyers say so directly. In the current 334-company cohort, 56 of 334 companies made it the main blocker, while 254 of 334 showed at least one public signal for it.\n## Observation\n- 254 of 334 companies showed at least one public signal for this blocker.\n- The upside can look clear while the replacement path still feels too risky.\n- 251 of 254 paired it with decision drift, which is why the public note stops at diagnosis instead of publishing the full next move.\n## Closing\nIf the replacement path still feels expensive and exposed, the product may never get the clean comparison it deserves. The brief keeps the migration choke points, replacement sequencing, and de-risking order private.\n## Related Themes\n- In this cohort, switching risk eased when the first wedge was narrow. (https://archive.citrusgate.com/themes/switching-friction)",
  "sections": [
    {
      "title": "Summary",
      "body": "Migration anxiety can overpower a strong product case long before buyers say so directly. In the current 334-company cohort, 56 of 334 companies made it the main blocker, while 254 of 334 showed at least one public signal for it."
    },
    {
      "title": "Observation",
      "bullets": [
        "254 of 334 companies showed at least one public signal for this blocker.",
        "The upside can look clear while the replacement path still feels too risky.",
        "251 of 254 paired it with decision drift, which is why the public note stops at diagnosis instead of publishing the full next move."
      ]
    },
    {
      "title": "Closing",
      "body": "If the replacement path still feels expensive and exposed, the product may never get the clean comparison it deserves. The brief keeps the migration choke points, replacement sequencing, and de-risking order private."
    }
  ],
  "related": {
    "themes": [
      {
        "title": "In this cohort, switching risk eased when the first wedge was narrow.",
        "canonicalUrl": "https://archive.citrusgate.com/themes/switching-friction",
        "markdownUrl": "https://archive.citrusgate.com/themes/switching-friction.md",
        "jsonUrl": "https://archive.citrusgate.com/api/public/themes/switching-friction.json",
        "summary": "In the selected cohort, switching-friction evidence appeared across 254 companies and 256 signals. In selected cases, buyers were more willing to advance when adoption could coexist with current systems before a broader replacement decision."
      }
    ]
  }
}