Crossing the Chasm
Why Most Startups Stall, and How to Cross the Gap
There’s this terrifying point in every company’s growth where what used to work suddenly… doesn’t.
Your early fans stop being enough. Your marketing feels like it’s shouting into the void. Retail doors open, but the turns don’t follow.
That’s the chasm.
In Crossing the Chasm, Geoffrey Moore lays out why so many startups die here, and how to build a bridge across it. It’s one of those books that hit me right where Fly By Jing is today: caught between the cult-following stage and the mass-market stage. We’ve already won the hearts of early adopters, the foodies, the cultural tastemakers, the people who want to try something new. But the next wave of growth depends on convincing a totally different kind of customer: the mainstream shopper who needs to see proof before taking a chance.
1. The Chasm is the Death Zone Between Visionaries and Pragmatists
Every innovation starts with early adopters- people who buy into your vision. They don’t need validation or guarantees; they just believe in what you’re creating.
But the early majority, the mainstream market, plays by a different rulebook. They’re not driven by excitement- they’re driven by risk reduction. They don’t want to be first; they want to be sure.
That’s where most startups fall apart. You can’t use the same playbook that got you here.
At Fly By Jing, our early adopters loved our cultural story and design-forward approach. But to win at Whole Foods or Costco, we have to show up differently. It’s not about being the coolest condiment anymore, it’s about being the most reliable one.
