#1290 - Unicorn
A unicorn is a mythical creature, usually represented as a horse with a spiralling horn on its forehead.
In 2013, venture capitalist Aileen Lee chose this legendary animal to identify something rare as a privately held company reaching a value of over one billion dollars. In CB insights, they keep track of unicorns worldwide and say there are over 1,200 of these rare companies.
Becoming a unicorn is probably the dream of most entrepreneurs. Or I should say startuppers, a special breed of entrepreneurs who are founders or co-founders of a startup.
But digressing about labels and definitions is not the point of this post.
For no apparent reason, I woke up with this word in mind: unicorn.
I realised that I heard it often in business and innovation contexts; I even used it but didn't know its origin.
I have to admit that the idea of unicorns makes me a little uncomfortable. When we give a name to something, it means it's important. And somehow, becoming a unicorn has become a goal for many startups. However, being a unicorn has nothing to do with what we do, how we do it or the impact we create as a result of our doing. It is all about financial value, one of the many indicators of the success of a business.
However, we made becoming a unicorn one of our most important goals at some point. Sometimes, the last goal. The dream of any startup.
I was surprised to read about startups reaching that status, and in the news, there was nothing about what they do or what kind of difference they are making in the world. It feels like the only thing that matters is getting there among the unicorns.
As Goodhart's Law states, "when a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure."
So, if you are a startup, I hope your goal is more than becoming a unicorn.