High Tech Strategies founder Warren Schirtzinger was first introduced to innovation diffusion theory in 1970. Warren’s grandfather was a professor at Ohio State University along with Everett Rogers, author of Diffusion of Innovations, so that allowed Warren to learn the fundamental principles of innovation adoption while growing up.

In graduate school, Warren’s mentor and academic advisor was Roger Blackwell Ph.D. This gave Warren advanced experience with the EKB consumer-decision model and the ways “perceived risk” effects purchase.

After working as a global product manager at Honeywell, Warren joined Silicon Valley consultancy Regis McKenna Inc. where he pioneered development of the Technology Adoption Lifecycle (TALC). In the late 1980s Warren and his colleagues refined the technology adoption model and created an updated framework called “the marketing chasm,” using it in hundreds of consulting engagements with leading high-tech companies.

Then in 1990 Warren and his colleagues in the Pacific Northwest introduced their marketing-chasm model to Geoffrey Moore, who also worked as a consultant at Regis Mckenna Inc. In the following years, Moore advanced their marketing-chasm idea and popularized what has become known as “Crossing the Chasm.”

Since 1989, Warren has guided and educated founders, CEOs and product managers, helping them avoid the loss of sales traction by staying aligned with the ever-changing needs of their customers. Some people call this market-engineering.