Crossing the Marketing Chasm

A marketing framework for early-stage organizations

Most early-stage B2B companies—especially in tech—are laser-focused on building product. That's understandable. You've got engineers coding like mad, founders selling the vision, and maybe your first customer or two. But what often gets neglected in this early push is something just as essential for growth: marketing. That includes building awareness, generating leads, identifying partners and establishing trust in your brand. And that neglect can come back to haunt you.

The Hidden Chasm You Didn't Plan For

Early in my career, I read Crossing the Chasm , Geoffrey Moore's classic on early-stage growth. It made a lasting impression. In the book, Moore outlines how early adopters are not the same as the mainstream market—and how the leap from one to the other can make or break a company. That idea stuck with me. Too often, startups pour everything into building great technology but fail to build a go-to-market engine that gets them across the chasm. Without that bridge—marketing, messaging, sales enablement, and a clear value story—momentum stalls. It's a timeless guide to early-stage growth techniques that still rings true today. But for many early stage companies, the situation is even more precarious. There's often a double chasm: a Marketing Chasm —that most early-stage companies fall into without even realizing it.