Are You Ready to Birth a Billion-Dollar Unicorn?
A mythological animal? Without a doubt! Yet, the term “Unicorn” has come to represent the dream of millions of entrepreneurs around the world.
Let’s see what this word objectively means in the business world.
Unicorn companies are private startups that have reached or exceeded a valuation of 1 billion dollars.
This term was coined by Aileen Lee, founder of Cowboy Ventures, in 2013 to describe the rarity of these successful enterprises.
Here are some distinctive features of unicorn companies:
High Valuation
The fundamental criterion to be considered a unicorn is a valuation of at least 1 billion dollars. In American terminology, a trillion dollars. This valuation is not based on current revenues or profits but on the perceived growth potential.
Privately Held
Unlike publicly traded companies, unicorn companies are private, meaning their shareholders include founders, venture capital investors, and employees with stock options. So, Wall Street has not yet poked its nose or hands into the company; the unicorn is captured when it is ripe.
Innovative and Scalable
Unicorn companies are often tied to innovative ideas, disruptive technologies, or new business models. They can scale quickly, often globally, thanks to technology and business models that allow exponential growth at relatively contained costs.
External Funding
Most unicorn companies have received significant investments from venture capital funds, angel investors, or other external financing sources. These investments help companies grow quickly and expand into new markets.
Various Sectors
While many unicorn companies operate in the technology sector, including software, internet, e-commerce, and fintech, there are unicorns in a variety of other sectors, such as healthcare, education, and energy.
Risk and Volatility
Unicorn companies are often associated with a high degree of risk and volatility. While some manage to maintain and exceed their valuation, others can fail or see a significant reduction in their value. Not all unicorns learn to fly.
Exit Strategies
Common exit strategies for unicorn companies include an IPO (Initial Public Offering) or acquisition by a larger company. These exits allow investors to realize a return on their initial investment.
Today I speak of a company that I adore and that I have been able to “Experience” since its birth.
I took the first “Ubers” when it was still called “Ubercab”.
Uber is a revolutionary company that has changed the entire world of transportation.
It has also changed the lives of tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions of people in the most remote corners of the planet.
We’re in 2009, and we’re facing a problem.
A taxi that’s late to arrive.
Garret Camp and Travis Kalanick, at a conference in Paris, couldn’t get a ride as they left the event. While waiting, they ask themselves one of those smart questions that every entrepreneur wants to be able to ask in their “career”.
As they wait and watch the flow of passing cars, they wonder, “What if there was an app that connects people passing by with those who need a ride?”
Here we are in front of the conception of a unicorn.
(Problem that many people have + “What if there was…”)/action
This is the equation that generates a new mythological animal.
Easy to understand but difficult to achieve because there are a thousand and another thousand factors that must align for everything to become perfect.
However, let’s proceed with our story.
Soon UberCab was born, an application that connected motorists and passengers. Obviously, it wasn’t all roses and flowers.
In the initial phase, a real storm was about to break over the taxi service monopoly, and UberCab already seemed like a real affront to the taxi profession.
But despite a thousand attacks, attempts at blocking, lawsuits, threats, and much more, UberCab, with a flick of its tail, becomes Uber in 2011 (a simple car-sharing, no longer a taxi company) and breaks into the global market.
Anyone can be an Uber Driver or an Uber passenger.
Open the app, click, and soon you are traveling to your destination. Kind drivers, attentive to feedback, impeccable service.
Finally, we could say goodbye to expensive, dirty taxis full of rude drivers.
Obviously, not all, but a sufficient mass to migrate millions of people to a service that is heavenly.
But Uber didn’t stop there.
With Uber Eats, it changed the world of home delivery. Another earning opportunity for drivers and another convenience for customers.
How many times in the past had you thought of ordering something from a restaurant only to encounter inefficiency, delays, and rudeness?
Instead, now everything runs smoothly.
This is how a unicorn becomes better, always better.
I am obviously a fan of Uber since its birth.
The numbers prove me right.
So, I think I can point out this company to inspire you. Remember the formula I wrote in this article; it’s fundamental.
Since I returned to live in the USA, I have decided to pursue this entrepreneurial dream too.
To create a unicorn company!
I make you smile.
I have everything I need.
Place, money, partners, technological partners, and much more.
What am I working on?
You might think the idea.
Instead, here’s the last great secret.
If you want to create a Unicorn company, you must find people like you who want to cultivate this dream and hang out with them until the magical moment when you say, “What if there was…..”
Author: Koan Bogiatto
Koan Bogiatto has explored approximately 123 countries around the world and, after living in Italy, Spain and then in the USA, Florida. He is the only Italian to have received the prestigious Green Card for Extraordinary Achievement and Outstanding Individual from the U.S. Government, in the fields of education and coaching. In the past Koan has served as a consultant for eBay, INA Assitalia, Wind, 21st Century, Alviero Martini, Politecnico di Torino, IUM Monaco, Sai, De’Longhi Group, and Il Sole 24 Ore. “He is the founder of several successful companies in various fields, including coaching, education, real estate, and cryptocurrency trading, to name a few.”
