TAM SAM SOM Canvas


The TAM/SAM/SOM Canvas is a strategy tool that helps teams break down and map the true size of a customer problem. By visually segmenting your Total Addressable Market (TAM), Serviceable Available Market (SAM), and Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM), you get a grounded understanding of your business opportunity—helping you focus where it actually matters.


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"Turning abstract market potential into concrete action—this canvas is your sanity-check for where to focus, which bets to place, and how to grow with confidence."

What does it help you map out?

The canvas gives structure to your customer understanding by guiding you through six essential areas:

  1. What is the problem?
    Clearly describe the problem your customers face. Consider when it occurs, how frequently, and how painful or urgent the issue is for those experiencing it.

  2. Who has this problem?
    Identify whether your primary customer is a business or a consumer. Explore how they feel when encountering the problem, what their context is, and why it matters to them.

  3. What is the root cause?
    Go deeper than surface symptoms to articulate the underlying issue causing the problem. Understanding root causes prevents superficial solutions and shapes better products or services.

  4. What are the current alternatives?
    Assess what solutions, if any, customers are currently using to address the problem. Evaluate the limitations and downsides of these workarounds to expose unmet needs and areas of opportunity.

  5. How can we do better?
    Brainstorm new approaches, whether by changing your business model, adding services, or introducing innovative solutions, that would outperform the status quo and create superior value for your customer.

Why this matters for more than startups:

  • Startups - Validate if the market is big enough to build a business.

  • Scale-ups - Prioritize where to double down or expand next.

  • Corporates - Justify resource allocation and de-risk innovation bets with market logic in your business model portfolio.


Whether you’re launching something new or rethinking an existing venture, this canvas helps you get clear on real needs—so you solve the right problems, for the right people, at the right scale. Use it to align your team, sharpen your focus, and set a solid foundation before you start building

Let’s stop guessing our market size.
Let’s start mapping real opportunities.
Let’s build solutions where they truly matter.
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