Why do 80% of new signups drop off within the first 5 minutes?

We spent weeks perfecting our product's core engine, assuming users would stick around once they saw what it could do. But our dashboard analytics told a harsh story: most signups dropped off right at the empty-state screen before hitting the "Aha!" moment. we replaced the blank dashboard with pre-filled sample templates and a 2-step setup. Activation rates jumped overnight not because the product got better, but because time-to-value got shorter.

Is onboarding friction usually a product design issue, or a failure to set expectations before the user even signs up?