If a "well-defined goal" project gets popular and sticky enough, it can metamorphize into an "ever-evolving" project by injection of VC capital.

Or just good old scope creep =)

https://www.laws-of-software.com/laws/zawinski/

> Every program attempts to expand until it can read mail. Those programs which cannot so expand are replaced by ones which can.

  -- James Zawinski, 1995