Understanding Your Growth Code: Why Investors Care About TAM, SAM, and SOM

And how a free workbook can help you define your market with clarity and confidence.

If you’ve ever felt stuck trying to explain the potential of your business to investors—or even to yourself—you’re not alone. Market sizing is one of the most important steps in building a fundable and scalable business, but it’s also one of the most misunderstood.

The terms TAM, SAM, and SOM may sound technical, but when broken down, they tell a powerful story: how big your opportunity is, how much of it you can realistically serve, and what portion you can confidently own in the near future.

Let’s break it down and show you how to use this framework to strengthen your funding strategy.

What are TAM, SAM, and SOM?

These three acronyms represent layers of market opportunity:

• TAM (Total Addressable Market) The total demand for your product or service if you could reach every potential customer—no limits, no barriers.
• SAM (Serviceable Available Market) A realistic subset of TAM: the portion of the market you could serve based on your current business model, location, and capabilities.
• SOM (Serviceable Obtainable Market) The slice of the SAM you realistically expect to capture in the near term—typically the next 3 to 5 years.

Think of it like a funnel: Big picture opportunity → Focused potential → Achievable traction

Why Investors (and You) Should Care

When you clearly define TAM, SAM, and SOM, you show investors:

• The scale of your vision (TAM)
• The practical design of your business model (SAM)
• Your ability to execute and gain traction (SOM)

Even more importantly, it helps you make better strategic decisions:

• Where to focus your time and resources
• Whether your growth goals are viable
• How to position your value in a crowded market

As one investor put it, “Your SOM tells me if you’re ready. Your SAM tells me if you’re real. Your TAM tells me how big this can get.”

How the Capital Pathways Workbook Helps

The Capital Pathways Workbook includes a guided section on defining your Growth Code helping you:

✅ Calculate your TAM, SAM, and SOM

✅ Map those insights to capital needs

✅ Forecast the revenue opportunity that supports your funding strategy

✅ Understand what actions are needed to scale from SOM to TAM

You'll also receive worksheets to project growth year over year and tools to assess what type of capital (grants, loans, VC, etc.) can help get you there.

What Founders Say

“Before the workbook, I was just throwing numbers out there. Now I understand how to explain my market in a way investors trust—and that I believe in.”

Whether you’re raising your first round, pitching for a grant, or planning strategic growth, your Growth Code is a foundation you can’t afford to overlook.

Ready to clarify your market and your message?

Download the free Capital Pathways Workbook to calculate your TAM, SAM, and SOM, and build a stronger case for your capital journey.

👉 Download the Workbook