Success is a universal goal of entrepreneurs when creating their startups. However, it is not a guarantee that all of these companies will achieve any level of success, let alone become incredibly wealthy. However, some inevitably do find success, with some becoming so lucrative that they cease to look like small businesses and become large companies.
There is a term for businesses like this—unicorns. It’s a relatively new term and one that is used to describe tech companies that have reached a $1 billion valuation or higher through fundraising. As you can probably gather from the name unicorn, these companies are incredibly uncommon.
Next, we will highlight some popular unicorns from recent memory.
Bring on the Unicorns!
Slack: Founded in 2009 and valued at $2.8 billion
Slack is a collaboration tool that mixes communication and file sharing. Slack lets you to put all of your employees on one platform and allows them to send direct messages, create groups for collaborative dialogues, as well as easily sharing documents.
DocuSign: Founded in 2003 and valued at $1.65 billion.
Led by CEO Keith Krach, DocuSign is the world’s leader in digital transaction management. DocuSign is based out of San Francisco and Seattle that provides electronic signature technology and services designed to make several processes quick, easy, and secure for their customers.
Airbnb: Founded in 2008 and valued at $20 billion
Airbnb is a popular website where people can rent out lodging. With millions of listing in 190 countries, Airbnb has blossomed into a hugely successful business.
Uber: Founded in 2009 and currently valued at $41.2 billion
With Uber, you can get a taxi, private car, or rideshare using your smartphone. Uber connects you within minutes to a driver.
Snapchat: Founded in 2012 and valued at $15 billion
You’re likely aware of Snapchat—you might even have the app installed on your smartphone already. Only three years old, the time-sensitive messaging and photo-sharing app has become wildly popular among millennials, quickly amassing a $15 billion value. In January of 2014, Snapchat rejected a deal from Facebook to purchase Snapchat for $3 billion. A year and a half later, it looks like Snapchat make the right decision.
What do you think about the real unicorns? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!
