In 2013, venture capitalist Aileen Lee coined the term "unicorn business" to describe a privately owned startup that had reached a $1 billion valuation. A business so rare that she named it after the mythical creature that has captured imaginations for centuries.
At the time, Lee had found only 39 of them. (The business kind, not the mythical creature).
Today they are a little less rare: there are over 1,500 around the world.
A few years ago, I decided to define a unicorn business a little differently (with apologies to any readers who are running billion-dollar startups).
I was acknowledging my friend Adam for what he had created at Real Schools.
To me, a unicorn business is the kind of business that combines:
having a genuinely great culture for everyone involved;
making a positive, significant contribution to the world; and
operating profitably.
I had seen lots of businesses that had nailed one of these, and a few that had nailed two. But not many that had nailed all three.
If you have, congratulations.
If you haven't yet, perhaps it's something worth aspiring to.
