A meaningful project should eventually stop needing your ego to stay alive.

In the early stages your ego does useful work, providing energy and the willingness to be embarrassed. Past a certain point it becomes a constraint, because a project sustained by your need for it cannot survive your losing interest, and it cannot let anyone else carry real weight.

Watch for the point where your involvement is protecting your position rather than the work. Then start handing pieces over, properly, including the visible ones. The project becoming less about you is the sign it is becoming real.