Unicorn startups are well-respected in the world of business. Becoming a successful unicorn needs several factors – customer-friendly branding techniques, a unique business model, growth-driven strategies, and on top of these, a unicorn refers to a start-up with a valuation of $1 billion or more, and so on. All over the world thousands of new companies come up with new services or products every year. However, most start-ups fail due to poor strategies and outdated business models and only a small percentage of start-ups could become unicorn companies. The fact that a business has only a 0.00006% chance of transforming into a unicorn, can be really challenging. If you want to give your company unicorn status, it’s important to be aware of how your products or services will make a better world. In this article, let’s see 10 steps you should follow to become a unicorn company.

1. Specific Target Audience

More than 60% of unicorns depend on a B2C business system. These companies provide reasonable and latest products and services to everyday consumers. To become a unicorn company, create products or services that consumers want for their essential needs and discover ways to identify the specific target audience for your products or services. Every unicorn in the world offers a strong value proposition or a promise of how its products add value to the needs of customers. If you want to stay in the game, understand who your specific target audience is and how you can add value to your products for them.

2. Introducing New Technologies

In the past two decades, all venture capitalists focused on investing in high-tech industries based on the basics of digital life.  This is the right time to introduce new technologies based on the advancement of digital life with more advanced technological features in fintech, industrial tech, health tech, mobility tech, digital commerce, and entertainment and media. Hi-tech is now influencing several verticals that make human life better. The better technologies you introduce the better unicorn you can develop. In a recent survey, it was said that roughly 90% of unicorns are software providers. May it be CRM systems, cloud computing, or any business software, all these leveraging technologies improve businesses dramatically.

3. Solve Existing Problems

Products that solve existing problems will naturally gain customers. Every brand is a kind of service to the human race if we understand the nature of business in detail. Hence, every problem can inspire you to start a business. If your product can solve big problems that your competitors cannot, you have identified the right strategy that can make your brand become a unicorn. After solving the problem initially, you may continue advancing the features of your product by adding some elements that customers need. A perfect example of knowing their target audience is Canva. Its products were able to solve real and present problems and they have delivered the perfect product to the right customers. Canva taught us that if your product was able to solve big problems, by the time you launch, you will surely have ready audiences that will surely care about your business.

4. Unique and Disruptive Business Model

Nowadays business disruption is the most effective business model that will become unicorns because it pertains to innovation in an industry that drastically affects the way it functions. Disruption refers to business innovation that fundamentally transforms the way that the industry or market functions. Every disruptive business provides simple yet creative solutions and cons-effective solutions that meet customer needs. Discover a new business disruption to develop a unicorn company.

5. Secure Funding

Securing funds is an indispensable part of every start-up. And a unicorn’s value is often based on how venture capitalists and investors see themselves develop and grow from it. This is where longer-term forecasting comes in. As a start-up owner, you must know how you can secure proper funds to ensure the perfect functions of your company. Especially for start-ups that have a goal of becoming a unicorn, having sufficient funding is the most important step. There are various funding solutions available now.  You may choose wisely to make your company become a unicorn in the long run.

6. Growth-driven Strategies

To develop your company as a unicorn, you should establish growth-driven strategies and set a long-term vision for your company. A growth strategy is an action plan that could help a company to grow continuously. Most unicorns have a clear vision and have achieved growth by obtaining tested validated sales channels and marketing strategies.  If a company applies the strategy appropriately, the company may acquire a huge number of customers and it will increase sales and revenue over a specific period. Growth-driven will unleash exact, quantifiable, and focused development to become a unicorn company from a scratch. 

7. Hire the Right Talents

To build up a successful start-up, you need a strong team with the right talents that will help drive growth. It is important to hire employees with not only the skillsets you need but also the same values you are looking for implementing your company missions applicably. Keep in mind that the employees with the right talents will be able to forward your company to the next level since they want to provide the best to attain the next level in their careers.  If you will hire and lead people who are in on the same page as yours, then you’ll be able to join forces more effectively and reach your goals. 

8. Business Relationships

Building relationships and establishing a strong rapport are two if of the most important aspects of developing a successful unicorn and these can be useful also during the trial-and-error stage. Having a strong business network will support companies to find suitable business partners, potential clients, and all types of investors. Developing a strong rapport with various business innovators and leaders can be highly beneficial for start-ups since new companies can gain valuable business insights from these business legends.

9. Branding and Marketing

Many startups fail to capture their place in the market since their branding and marketing departments don’t perform well. Establishing the brand identity of your company and developing a detailed and long-term branding and marketing strategy will make you go on the right path. Once you have established a powerful image of your brand, you can start executing a marketing strategy based on your target audience. An excellent product concept can give a convincing reason for people to go for your product or even change preferences based on their status quo and market alternatives. 

10. Scale Your Start-up

Scaling a business requires planning, some funding, skilled employees, enhanced processes, the latest technologies, and long-term goals. Scaling a business with the right sales and marketing strategies will support your company to become a unicorn company since it gives you a clear picture of building an accurate strategy that outlines key milestones. It can also align your short-term and long-term goals so that you can gradually reach the status of a unicorn.  

By having a large and untouched market with a fascinating value proposition, a quick word-of-mouth can be prompted which leads to attracting more buyers and potential clients then becoming the choice of the majority, and then eventually, passing the scalability test.

Conclusion

There is no exact formula to develop a unicorn company. However, the above steps and examples can help your company forward to the next level. If you want to stay competitive in your business model, you need a strong understanding of what your business concept is. Once you develop a powerful solution to address the existing problems and scale up, you will set a new path to reaching unicorn standards.