Find & validate your idea
Market size & timing
Is it big enough, and why now?
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Showing 7 of 18 questions. Clear filters
How big does my market need to be for this to be a real business?
It depends on your ambition: a bootstrapped indie business can thrive in a market worth a few million, but a venture-backed one needs a market that...
What are TAM, SAM, and SOM and how do I actually calculate them?
TAM is everyone who could ever use your category, SAM is the slice your product and geography can actually serve, and SOM is the realistic chunk yo...
Why does 'why now?' matter so much for a startup idea?
Most great startups ride a change that just made something newly possible or newly cheap: a new technology, regulation, behaviour, or cost curve. I...
My market is small right now but growing fast. Is that a problem?
A small, fast-growing market often beats a big, flat one, because you can ride the growth instead of stealing share in a knife fight. Investors and...
Should I worry that my market is already crowded with competitors?
A crowded market is proof that people will pay, which is a good sign, not a red flag. What kills you is entering a crowded market with no sharp wed...
My total market looks small, but each customer is worth a lot. Can a low-count, high-value market still work?
Yes, and it's often a better business than a huge market of tiny accounts, because a few hundred customers each paying serious money can build a re...
Two of us disagree on how big the opportunity is. How do we resolve a market-size argument between cofounders?
Stop arguing about the number and get specific about the assumptions behind it, because you're almost always disagreeing about who the customer is,...
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