BreakPoint
The second-chance platform for any project
Code, writing, art, music, home, business, learning. BreakPoint is where projects that you walked away from find a second life. 88% of GitHub repos are abandoned. 90% of New Year's resolutions fail. 70% of writing projects die. BreakPoint is the platform for the other 12%.
Published July 13, 2026 · ~6 min read
The thesis
Every project management tool is built for the moment you start a project. None of them are built for the moment you walk away from one. BreakPoint is the second one. We don't help you organize your active projects — that's Notion, Trello, Linear, Obsidian. We help you revive the ones you already abandoned. Or hand them to someone else who'll take them on. Or, if nobody wants them, archive them with grace and move on.
The eight verticals
Each vertical is a real category of abandoned project with its own signals, community, and adoption pattern. Pick yours.
Code
Open source libraries, tools, frameworks. The original BreakPoint vertical.
The 88% of GitHub repos that are abandoned.
Side projects
Personal projects, weekend hacks, MVPs that didn't ship. The 88% of side projects that never finish.
The second most common type of abandoned project.
Writing
Novels, nonfiction books, articles, blog series. 70% of writing projects die before they're finished.
The unfinished novel is a universal experience.
Art
Drawing, design, illustration, photography projects. The works that exist only as sketches and WIPs.
The sketches that never became paintings.
Music
Albums, songs, compositions, sample packs. The 90% of music projects that never see release.
The demos that never became albums.
Home / DIY
Renovations, builds, garden projects, repairs. The half-painted room, the half-built shelf.
The garage that never got cleaned out.
Business
Startup ideas, MVPs, side hustles, products that never shipped. The 60% of small businesses that fail in 5 years.
The startup idea that lived in a notebook.
Learning
MOOCs, courses, certifications, language studies. The 88% of online learners who never finish.
The course you signed up for and never completed.
The data behind the second-chance economy
These numbers are the reason BreakPoint exists. The pattern is the same across every vertical:
- 88% of GitHub repos are abandoned within 6 years of the last commit (GitHub Octoverse 2017, replicated in 2025).
- 60% of OSS maintainers have quit or considered quitting (Tidelift 2024).
- 90% of New Year's resolutions fail (UCLA, replicated annually).
- 70% of writing projects (novels, nonfiction books) are abandoned before completion (writers' survey data).
- 60% of small businesses fail within 5 years (SBA 2024).
- 88% of online learners never complete the course they enrolled in (various MOOC completion studies).
The pattern is the same: people start things, then walk away. BreakPoint is the platform that helps the walk-away be the start of a second chapter, not the end of the story.
The 41% revival rate
Per a 2019 arXiv study, 41% of abandoned open source projects come back to life when there's a handoff mechanism. The handoff mechanism is what BreakPoint provides. For OSS, it's the adopt-me topic, the maintainer handoff guide, the conversation thread, the 23-day median drop-to-first-PR. For other verticals, the mechanism is the same: a public place where the project is described, where a new owner can find it, and where the original owner can describe what's left to do.
Frequently asked questions
What is BreakPoint?
The second-chance platform for any project. Code, writing, art, music, home, business, learning.
What kinds of projects can I drop on BreakPoint?
Eight verticals: code, side projects, writing, art, music, home, business, learning.
Is BreakPoint just for open source?
Started that way. Expanded in 2026 to all projects.
How is BreakPoint different from Notion or Trello?
Notion is for starting projects. BreakPoint is for reviving the ones you walked away from.