Have you ever heard of unicorn companies? No, they are not fantasy companies or that everything is going well for them, although we might think that the latter is more feasible for them.
Do you know exactly what they are? And which ones are there in Spain or what does it take to be one of them? Below we explain everything.
What are unicorn companies
The first thing you should know about unicorn companies is what their concept refers to. These have an important characteristic and that is that they are companies that, in less than ten years, have achieved a valuation of more than one billion dollars. Of course, they must have done so without having been listed on the stock market or having been acquired by a third party.
This concept was first coined in 2013. It was the founder of Cowboy Ventures, Aileen Lee, who gave a definition for these companies: “A technology company that reaches the value of 1000 million USD at some point in its process of raising capital, without going public”.
At that time, unicorn companies were some famous ones like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn...
How to be part of unicorn companies
Now that you know what unicorn companies are, if you have a business it is normal that you want to aspire to be within this select group. However, we already tell you that it is easy for us, especially to be able to have a valuation of one billion dollars. But it's not impossible either.
Success does not have a first and last name, and anyone who makes a strategy and roadmap, and follow her without losing hope, she could achieve that dream.
But, if in addition to that, you pay attention to some commonalities that unicorn companies have, things could tip the scales in your favor. What are those points?
- Establish a communication strategy based on social networks. It is important to have an active and communicative presence on social networks; in all possible ways to reach your target audience and that the messages are consistent with it.
- The customer is the most important. And all the work that is done is done thinking about him and what he is going to feel buying the product, using it and recommending it.
- They have a global vision. In the sense that they do not stagnate only in a place, or in a city, autonomous community or country. They go much further, seeing the opportunities that the international market can give them.
- They are multidisciplinary and multicultural. In other words, the team they have enriches the company because they are all young, talented, creative and have different ideas that can improve the company.
- They have resilience. In case you don't know, resilience is the ability of a person to overcome a negative situation. In the case of companies, to the ups and downs that this can have.
Of course, there are many more things that need to be done to get that rating, but in general these points are some of the ones we find in all the unicorn companies out there.
What unicorn companies are there in Spain?
You should keep in mind that unicorn companies are not always the same. Over the years these are changing, some leave and others enter. That is why we are going to tell you about the ones that, as of 2023, are now in what we could say are the top 9 of all of them.
Jobandtalent
This company founded by three young men, Felipe Navío, Juan Urdiales and Félix Ruiz, was created in 2008 with the aim of helping people find jobs through the Internet.
Over time, it has managed to have a presence in Germany, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Colombia, France and Sweden. And, at the end of 2021, it already had a valuation of 2070 billion dollars.
Currently this figure has risen to 2350 billion dollars.
I must
The second unicorn company in Spain is Devo, dedicated to cloud-native data security and analysis. Its valuation is 1500 million euros, that in 2022. And it is that it has come to exceed 2000 million euros today.
Fever
The third company that is at the top of the top is Fever, a company created by Ignacio Bachiller, Francisco Hein and Alexandre Pérez in Madrid (specifically in 2017).
Now it operates in more than sixty cities, not only in Spain, but in Europe, Oceania, America and Asia. In fact, despite being Spanish, its headquarters are in the United States, where it has a greater market share.
Its valuation is 1960 million euros.
Cabify
We continue with more unicorn companies in Spain to talk about Cabify, well known for being an app that unites passengers and drivers. In fact, in Spain it is used more than its competitor, Uber.
It has a valuation of $1400 billion.
Travel Perk
2015 is the year in which Javier Suárez and Avi Meir decided to create, after leaving Booking, TravelPerk. And they were quite successful because right now it has a valuation of 1300 billion dollars.
Of course, they are focused on corporate trips.
Domestika
Domestika's history has a lot to do with the forums. Emerged in Spain, it became a community that came to rise like foam. However, not many know that it is Spanish, especially since it is based in California.
Right now its valuation is 1300 billion euros as well.
Cupped
With a valuation of 1200 billion euros, This development company is aimed at SMEs and large companies.
Recover
From the fashion sector, it has a valuation of 1100 billion dollars. It has a center in Spain and two in Asia, but the goal is to open six in other parts of the world.
Factorial
Finally, another of the unicorn companies that you can find is this one, from the human resources sector, with a valuation of one billion dollars.
As you can see, unicorn companies are very successful and the goal of many businesses may be to achieve that. But it won't be easy. Do you have any questions about these?