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Market explanation is one of the areas where early-stage founders feel the most pressure.
This pressure often leads to inflated numbers that reduce credibility during evaluation.
Why inflated markets raise concerns
Evaluators are familiar with common market-sizing shortcuts.
Overly large or generic market claims often signal shallow analysis rather than ambition.
What evaluators care about instead
At the early stage, evaluators focus more on:
- who the initial user is
- why the problem matters to them
- how they currently behave
Specificity reduces uncertainty more than scale.
How to frame your market realistically
A stronger approach is to:
- start with a narrow, well-defined segment
- explain how that segment expands over time
- connect market understanding to learning strategy
Conclusion
Clear, grounded market explanations are more effective in early-stage evaluation than large but abstract numbers.