This Week in Startups

Unicorns: now and then with Aileen Lee | E1887

Jan 27, 2024

01:08:59

Snipd AI

Aileen Lee, venture capitalist and founder of Cowboy Ventures, joins the show to talk about her experiences as a woman in tech, the Unicorn Club, predictions for startups, and more. They discuss the changing representation of women in venture capital, the rise of unicorn companies, the benefits of using Ketone IQ, the changing demographics of startup founders, and investment strategy at Cowboy Ventures.

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Quick takeaways

The number of enterprise companies in the unicorn club has significantly increased, accounting for 80% of the total list.

There has been a shift in the backgrounds of founders, with a decrease in technical founders and an increase in founders with entrepreneurial experience in various industries.

The capital efficiency of companies has decreased over the years, with the valuation divided by equity raised ratio dropping from 26x to 7x for enterprise companies.

Deep dives

Increase in Enterprise Companies

The analysis of unicorns shows a significant increase in the number of enterprise companies, accounting for 80% of the total list.

Introduction

3min

The Evolution of Unicorns and Venture Capital

7min

Seeking a Performance Edge and the Benefits of Ketone IQ

2min

Changing Landscape of Venture-Backed Software Companies

4min

Understanding Unicorns and Investor Expectations

5min

Changing Demographics and Backgrounds of Startup Founders

9min

Changes in Company Ownership and Introduction to CODA Software

3min

Trading Activity and Valuations in Secondary Markets

17min

Investment Strategy and Founder Qualities

18min

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Today’s show: Aileen Lee join Jason to talk about her origins and overcoming challenges as a woman in a male-dominated tech space (2:12), the Unicorn Club and the effects of the ZIRP era (11:51), predictions on which startups will maintain their unicorn status (33:09), and more!

Subscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcp

LINKS:

Check out Cowboy Ventures: https://www.cowboy.vc/

Read Aileen’s 2024 article here: https://www.cowboy.vc/news/welcome-back-to-the-unicorn-club-10-years-later

Read Aileen’s original Unicorn article here: https://techcrunch.com/2013/11/02/welcome-to-the-unicorn-club/

Check out All Raise: https://www.allraise.org/

Thanks to our partners:

(10:26) Ketone-IQ - Get 30% off your first subscription order of Ketone-IQ at http://www.hvmn.com/TWIST

(20:39) Paintbrush - Visit http://www.getpaintbrush.com to see if you qualify for a $50K startup loan in less than 2 minutes

(31:38) Coda - Get started for free at https://www.coda.io/twist

Follow Eileen

X: https://twitter.com/aileenlee