── ── Startups
Product-Market Fit and Crossing the Chasm
Two distinct questions decide early-stage growth: (1) PMF — do enough users love the product they'd be very disappointed without it? (2) Chasm — can you move from early adopters (tolerate rough edges for novelty) into the early majority (need proven, complete, referenceable products)? Both failures look like "low growth" but differ in cause and cure.
How it works
Run the PMF + Chasm Audit. PMF first; chasm second.
When to use it
- user says "PMF," "product-market fit," "crossing the chasm," "early adopter to mainstream," "whole product," "we're stuck after our beachhead," or "growth stalled after an initial good period"
- startup has early traction but can't tell if it's real
- team is debating which segment to target next after winning early fans
When not to use it
the product has no users yet (use lean-startup instead); the business is already category-mature and the question is about scaling proven channels.
Worked example
Salesforce, 1999 → 2007
A worked example. Not founder hagiography — primary-source documented in Marc Benioff's autobiography and SEC filings.
Install this skill (free, MIT)
npx skills add deciqAI/knowledge-skills