Crossing the Chasm: Geoffrey Moore's Framework

What is it?

“Crossing the Chasm” is a strategic framework that explains the challenge of moving from early adopters to the early majority in the technology adoption lifecycle. Moore highlights that there’s a chasm between these groups and products often fall into it and fail to scale. This work builds upon Everett Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovations model and provides a framework, analogy, and strategic insight into why some tech products succeed and many fail despite early signs of promise.

The Technology Adoption Lifecycle (adapted from Rogers)

Segment	Description	Behavior
Innovators	Tech enthusiasts; want to try cutting-edge tech	Tolerate bugs, want early access
Early Adopters	Visionaries; see strategic advantage	Love potential, not afraid of change
Early Majority	Pragmatists; want proven value	Risk-averse, want references, ROI proof
Late Majority	Conservatives; adopt only when standard	Need mainstream support
Laggards	Skeptics; resistant to change	Adopt when there's no other option

The Chasm

Where is the chasm? Between Early Adopters and Early Majority
Why does it exist? Because visionaries buy based on potential, while pragmatists buy based on proof.
Most startups build for visionary early adopters but fail to translate the product, messaging, and value proposition to pragmatic buyers.

Analogy: The Bowling Alley

Moore introduced the Bowling Alley analogy to explain how to cross the chasm:

🎳 “Start by knocking down a niche market (a bowling pin), then use that as leverage to knock down adjacent pins, eventually building momentum toward the tornado (mass adoption).”

First pin = beachhead market
Adjacent pins = other verticals that share needs
The tornado = rapid, mainstream market adoption

Product Lifecycle: Risks and Shifts

Lifecycle Stage	Key Risk	Focus Required	PM Strategy Shift
Early Adoption	Product not solving a real need	Vision alignment, rapid iteration	Engage with visionaries, embrace bugs, speed > polish
Chasm Crossing	Lack of credibility with mainstream buyers	Targeted GTM, reference customers, niche focus	Pick a vertical, make it love you, deliver proof
Early Majority	Scaling too fast, unmet expectations	Operational excellence, onboarding, integrations	Prioritize reliability, documentation, reference selling
Late Majority	Stagnation, cost pressure	Optimization, price differentiation, ecosystem partners	Cost-efficiency, low-risk messaging
Laggards	Decline, commoditization	Sunset, support, or reinvention	Harvest or pivot to next S-curve

Why it still applies, especially in AI

This framework remains highly relevant, even more so in AI product management:

Chasm Challenge	AI-Specific Example
Visionary vs. Pragmatic Users	Visionaries love Gen AI demos; pragmatists want reproducibility & ROI
Lack of references	AI copilots for finance lacking case studies delay enterprise adoption
Niche focus required	Verticalized LLMs (e.g., Legal, Healthcare) succeed by narrowing scope
High-risk perception	AI hallucination risks scare late-stage adopters
No repeatable ROI	Generic copilots often can’t justify price for non-technical teams

Strategic takeaways for PMs

Don’t build for everyone at once: find your first pin.
Pragmatic buyers demand trust: show clear value, social proof, and low switching costs.
Be patient with growth: scale only when one niche fully adopts you.
Tailor the GTM for each stage: vision messaging won’t work past the chasm.
In AI: trust, safety, domain fine-tuning, and human fallback are key differentiators to cross the chasm.

Geoffrey Moore's Framework: Crossing the Chasm