
Reaching the Chasm
How to Drive Your Early-Stage Start-Up to Scale
Edward Amoroso(Author)
Columbia University Press
Published on 2. December 2025
Book
Hardback
240 pages
978-0-231-21983-9 (ISBN)
Description
One of the greatest challenges facing any start-up is "crossing the chasm": bridging the gap between early adopters and mass-market buyers. Yet many promising businesses struggle even to reach the chasm. Often, founders leap in with money and a dream, only to hit a wall. How can start-up founders diagnose and fix problems in order to arrive at this critical point?
Edward G. Amoroso provides an indispensable guide for start-ups looking to get off the ground and scale up to the next level. Getting to the chasm, as he illustrates through dozens of real-world case studies, requires long-term vision. Founders must focus on their core belief system-not simply what they do but why they are in business in the first place. Buyers connect with start-ups based on shared beliefs, and any founding team that does not understand this secret will struggle to build relationships with customers. Amoroso shares field-tested guidance for businesses in different spaces and stages on crafting a compelling message, understanding customers, benchmarking against competitors, and leveraging what makes a company irreplaceable. For founders, venture capital teams, private equity firms, investors, and readers with an interest in entrepreneurship, Reaching the Chasm is the road map for early-stage start-up success.
Edward G. Amoroso provides an indispensable guide for start-ups looking to get off the ground and scale up to the next level. Getting to the chasm, as he illustrates through dozens of real-world case studies, requires long-term vision. Founders must focus on their core belief system-not simply what they do but why they are in business in the first place. Buyers connect with start-ups based on shared beliefs, and any founding team that does not understand this secret will struggle to build relationships with customers. Amoroso shares field-tested guidance for businesses in different spaces and stages on crafting a compelling message, understanding customers, benchmarking against competitors, and leveraging what makes a company irreplaceable. For founders, venture capital teams, private equity firms, investors, and readers with an interest in entrepreneurship, Reaching the Chasm is the road map for early-stage start-up success.
Reviews / Votes
I have known Edward G. Amoroso for more than twenty-five years, since my time at AT&T. He has witnessed evolutions and revolutions of technology from some of the most innovative founders and entrepreneurs. His book Reaching the Chasm distills decades of knowledge into an understandable framework to achieve early start-up success. -- Lane Bess, CEO, Deep Instinct In Reaching the Chasm, Edward G. Amoroso provides a road map on how to avoid the pitfalls of start-ups by learning from mistakes and strategically planning for success. Through a step-by-step process and using real-world examples, Amoroso answers the question asked by many start-up execs: "How do I make my start-up succeed?" -- Daniel Lowden, CMO, Blackbird.AI In Reaching the Chasm, Amoroso uses his years of experience to have founders look at standard start-up issues through a new and unique lens. He effectively conveys a philosophical wisdom that is wrapped in practical business execution advice. He will make sure you understand why you are embarking on the journey you have chosen and guide you to a happy community. -- Ted Schlein, general partner, Kleiner Perkins, and founding general partner, Ballistic VenturesMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Trade binding
Illustrations
22 b&w figures
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 140 mm
ISBN-13
978-0-231-21983-9 (9780231219839)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
12/2025
1st Edition
Columbia University Press
€25.49
Available for download
Person
Edward G. Amoroso is the founder and CEO of TAG Infosphere, a global cybersecurity research and advisory firm, and a distinguished research professor in the Tandon School of Engineering at New York University. The author of several books, he is a former senior vice president and chief security officer at AT&T and has served on major corporate boards.
Content
Preface: Start-Ups Are Harder Than They Look. Much Harder.
Part I. Discovery and Learning
1. Why Are You in Business?
2. What Is Your Value Proposition?
3. Who Are Your Customers?
Part II. Enlightenment
4. Who Are Your Competitors?
5. What Is Your Key Advantage?
6. How Are You Funded?
Part III. Decisions and Actions
7. How Should You Work with Analysts?
8. What Is Your Go-to-Market Process?
9. How Do You Sell?
Part IV. Review and Planning
10. What Is Working in Your Start-Up?
11. Should You Really Be Doing a Start-Up?
Acknowledgments
Index
Part I. Discovery and Learning
1. Why Are You in Business?
2. What Is Your Value Proposition?
3. Who Are Your Customers?
Part II. Enlightenment
4. Who Are Your Competitors?
5. What Is Your Key Advantage?
6. How Are You Funded?
Part III. Decisions and Actions
7. How Should You Work with Analysts?
8. What Is Your Go-to-Market Process?
9. How Do You Sell?
Part IV. Review and Planning
10. What Is Working in Your Start-Up?
11. Should You Really Be Doing a Start-Up?
Acknowledgments
Index