2021: Creating a Lexicon of Future

Z is for Zebra

Over the last 20 years, the word ‘unicorn’ has become a part of the business culture lexicon…

Coined by Aileen Lee of Cowboy Ventures, a “Unicorn” company is a startup that is valued at $1 billion or more — and growing. The catch: Unicorn companies aren’t actually producing billions of dollars worth of revenue, but due to the size of investment, the company valuation grows to the lauded 10-figure sum.

Nevertheless, according to Silicon Valley seers, there’s blood in the water as 90% of unicorn companies are set to either run out of steam or simply fail.

There’s many reasons for this, from unit economics to a glut of investors. Below, we discuss these trends to provide a better understanding of the rise — and potential fall — of Unicorn companies.. ~ Silicon Valley’s Unicorn Companies are in Trouble — Here’s Why

Enter the Zebra

Almost a year to the day, we published “Zebras Fix what Unicorns Break” in March 2017, and were promptly overwhelmed by the response. Over 10,000 founders, investors, lawyers, accountants, philanthropists, and others interested in startups reacted to the article, and our social media feeds blew up, with the overwhelming sentiment being “You described what I am / want to be / want to invest in.” We had…