TechCrunch Startup News Index Ventures’ Jahanvi Sardana shares the truth about TAM and what founders should focus on instead
Jul 30, 2025
Jahanvi Sardana addresses the misconception around Total Addressable Market (TAM) for startups. She points out that many successful companies initially emerged from seemingly nonexistent markets. Sardana uses a surfing metaphor to explain market navigation, categorizing them into known, emerging, and invisible. This insight encourages founders to focus on understanding their market landscape rather than just chasing TAM numbers, which can help attract potential investors.
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Rethinking Total Addressable Market
- TAM is not always about existing markets; many startups emerge from non-existent markets.
- Understanding if you are in a known, emerging, or invisible market shapes your approach to product and investor conversations.
Three Buckets of TAM
- TAM can be bucketed into known, emerging, and invisible markets, each requiring a different strategy.
- Invisible markets are the biggest trap, where founders must create and prove a market does not yet exist.
Make TAM Slides Your Own
- Include a TAM slide in your pitch deck but avoid overreliance on industry reports.
- Show unique insights about your market to demonstrate deep understanding to investors.