crossing-the-chasm
Note: This skill is independent analysis and commentary, not a reproduction of the original text. It synthesizes the book's core ideas with modern startup practice, surfaces where frameworks are outdated or incomplete, and integrates perspectives from adjacent disciplines. For the full argument and context, read the original book.
Crossing the Chasm
"The point of greatest peril in the development of a high-tech market lies in making the transition from an early market dominated by a few visionary customers to a mainstream market dominated by a large block of customers who are predominantly pragmatists in orientation." - Geoffrey Moore
Should You Use This Skill?
Is your product targeting enterprise buyers (>$10K deals, multi-stakeholder)?
├─ YES → Continue to next question
└─ NO → Pure consumer / PLG / marketplace?
├─ Pure consumer (TikTok, gaming) → SKIP this skill entirely
├─ PLG SaaS (Slack, Notion, Figma) → Use positioning + whole product concepts only; for adoption strategy, see $100M Leads
├─ Marketplace (Airbnb-like) → Two-sided dynamics don't map to TALC; use Blue Ocean Strategy for market creation
└─ AI-native (Cursor, Claude) → Adoption patterns unprecedented; use Four Steps to Epiphany for customer discovery, this skill for enterprise positioning only
Do you have at least 10 paying customers or repeatable early-adopter revenue?
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66lean-startup
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61traction
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