Serviceable Obtainable Market

Also called SOM

Serviceable obtainable market: the share of your serviceable market you can realistically win in the near term, given competition and your resources. The smallest, most concrete number.

Why it matters

SOM is what you can actually go get, so it drives near-term targets and plans more usefully than the bigger numbers. A credible SOM shows you have thought realistically about competition and execution, not just market fantasy.

For example

Given its team and competition, the startup realistically expects to win 2,000 of those companies in two years, its serviceable obtainable market.

Related terms

Serviceable Addressable Market Total Addressable Market Beachhead Market

Go deeper

See how founders actually handle this on Growing and marketing, part of the Starting Up hub.

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