“Where is the wound—and who decides if I am welcome?”
Founders are taught to size a market, spot unmet demand and move fast. But a big market can still be the wrong opportunity if people do not trust your response—or recognise your right to make it. The Total Addressable Void (TAV) lens starts with a sharper question: what has broken, who feels the cost, and who must accept your role before your solution can take root?
1. Map the Total Addressable Void
Before estimating market size, locate the breakdown. Is it a gap in access, trust, service, affordability—or something else? Research on institutional channels and opportunity recognition shows how context shapes which opportunities entrepreneurs notice and pursue.
Action items
- Name the specific breakdown you want to address.
- Identify who experiences it and what it costs them.
- Ask whether the gap exists because no one has noticed it—or because earlier responses failed.
2. Run the TAV legitimacy check
A pressing need does not automatically give a founder standing to respond. Ask who must recognise your role: customers, community leaders, regulators, professional groups or partners? Research on legitimacy in entrepreneurial ecosystems highlights the importance of being accepted by the people and institutions around a venture.
Action items
- List the people whose trust or approval your venture depends on.
- Ask what evidence they need before they will engage.
- Speak with them before you finalise the offer.
For a related perspective, read Why a Good Opportunity Is Not Enough, or watch “Innovation as a Driver of Growth in Financial Services” on the Kleos Advisory YouTube channel.
3. Turn your diagnosis into a first test
If your plan is built only on TAM, pause. You may be solving the wrong problem—or asking the wrong people to welcome your solution. Use the TAV diagnosis to shape one small, respectful test.
Action items
- Write a one-sentence description of the wound and who bears it.
- Test one part of your response with the people affected.
- Track not only interest, but also trust, objections and willingness to participate.
Conclusion
A good opportunity begins with attention: notice the wound, understand who lives with it, and learn who must welcome your response. Map the Total Addressable Void before you scale. The strongest first step may be a better question—not a bigger launch.
