Early in my founder journey, I knew I had customers and that I could get more of them if I hustled. But for ages, I didn’t take time to figure out how big the market I was going after was. When I eventually did, I learned it was huge—over $30 billion. I also learned how competitive it was. Everyone wanted a piece of it. It was a cutthroat space. These insights forever changed how I thought about my business. I would have to fight tooth and nail to grow.

Today I spoke with a founder who’s solving a problem that he says inflicts 10% of the human population. A huge market. And a severely underserved one. People facing this problem want help but can’t find the solutions they need. This combination—huge market, little competition—is unlike what my company faced. If this founder can create a solution that solves this pain point effectively, the field is wide open. It’s a great high-growth opportunity if he can execute.

If you’re building a company, what’s the 30,000–foot view? How big is your market? How much competition is there? Knowing the answers to these questions is important. It may not change what you do, but it can have a big impact on how you do it and how fast you’re able to do it.