Equity Back in the Unicorn Club with Cowboy Ventures’ Aileen Lee
Jan 18, 2024
Aileen Lee, managing partner at Cowboy Ventures and the founder of the term 'unicorn,' dives into the latest insights on billion-dollar startups. She discusses the explosive growth of unicorns from 39 to over 532, the implications of market shifts, and introduces quirky new terms like 'unicorpse' and 'zombiecorn.' Aileen highlights the rising competition for unicorn status, the challenges of diversity in founding teams, and how AI is reshaping consumer software expectations. Plus, we learn why New York is becoming a unicorn hotspot.
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Unicorn Term Origin
- Aileen Lee coined the term "unicorn" because she needed a shorter way to describe "U.S.-based, VC-backed, under-10-year-old companies" in her original 2013 TechCrunch article.
- She wanted a term that captured the rarity and magic of achieving significant value creation.
Unicorn Growth
- The number of unicorns has grown much faster than predicted, from 39 in 2013 to 532 in 2023.
- This represents roughly 30% year-over-year growth.
Enterprise Unicorn Dominance
- The landscape of unicorns has shifted dramatically from consumer to enterprise focus.
- Now, 78% of unicorns are enterprise-focused, compared to a much smaller percentage in 2013.