We estimated the market size for our research on the treatment of autistic spectrum disorders to be $2 billion for SAM, $2 billion for TAM, and $200 million for SOM. The market for autism spectrum disorders worldwide, according to Allied Market Research Reports, was worth $27.3 billion (2021). The addressable market is expected to reach $43.2 billion in value, with a compound annual growth rate of 4.6%. We must be strategic with our SAM because the healthcare industry is one of the most heavily regulated industries. This means regulatory costs and compliance can drive up our net costs.
After careful consideration, our team decided on the US as their SAM for two main reasons. First, among the OECD countries, the USA has the greatest per capita healthcare spending. Market revenue for autism treatments in the US is $2 billion. Second, even though the US healthcare industry is heavily regulated by governmental agencies like the FDA, the approval process for new therapies in the US is far more organized than it is elsewhere in the globe. We then calculated a realistic estimate that our product would be able to capture roughly one-tenth of the SAM, which would make our SOM for the first phase of our offering—limited to the US owing to regulatory factors including government approvals and health insurance—be roughly $1.7 billion.
Some quotes from my interviews:
Quote: “It’s really hard taking my child to different providers scattered around the city. It would have helped if I can see multiple providers under the same roof.”
Insight: Care for special needs is disjointed with multiple providers specializing in different things. There might be an opportunity to unify different services under the same larger structure.
“What helped me a lot was connecting with other parents whose children are divergent. I made a support network on WhatsApp for us.”
Insight: The journey for care givers is hard and a community can help the families of children with special needs. Currently, this sense of community is restricted based on sharing the same provider, school, or physical proximity. There is opportunity to either help these physical connections or create more virtual connections.
“They don’t tell you that it’s like two full time jobs in the first few years of caring for a child with autism.”
Insight: Helping parents reclaim time through better care can help them.
“In the US, insurance companies often do not cover ABA therapy and other unique therapies for children.”
Insight: Many services are not considered essential. Some services are considered necessary for education but not health. This means non-medical companies can come in to help these segments of population.
