Time to unicorn status: An exploratory examination of new ventures with extreme valuations

Abstract

AbstractResearch SummaryUnicorns—private new venture firms with over a billion dollars in valuation—have garnered increased attention from the media, analysts, and the public. We first provide a descriptive assessment of unicorn ventures by examining heterogeneity within this unique population using a novel dataset. Then drawing on prior research on growth and valuation, we focus on the temporal dynamics of ventures within the unicorn population to assess variations in the speed at which they reach a billion dollars in valuation. We highlight some significant relationships by investigating associations between founder, investment, venture, and industry characteristics and the temporal dynamics of speed to reach unicorn status. We conclude by outlining a research agenda on the temporal dynamics of growth and scaling.Managerial SummaryUnicorn ventures represent a small but high‐profile category of entrepreneurial ventures that have captured media attention and garnered broad interest while attracting significant private capital. As a global phenomenon, they have certainly left a significant mark on the business landscape as they exploit unique market and technological opportunities to exemplify new industries and market categories. Leveraging hand‐collected data from many sources, we provide a comprehensive descriptive assessment of this population by focusing on the founder, venture, investment, and industry characteristics. We also show how U.S.‐ and China‐based unicorn ventures differ on numerous factors. Given a great deal of interest in the speed to unicorn status within the practitioner community, we highlight some novel internal (founder and venture characteristics) and external (industry and investment) factors associated with the time it takes to attain unicorn status.