What are Unicorn Startups?

Unicorn Startups is a term that has been formed with the help of two words, i.e., Unicorn and Startups. Startup refers to the business venture founded by one or more entrepreneurs to bring a unique idea, service, or product to the market. However, privately held startups having a value over $ 1 billion are “UNICORN.” Venture capitalist Aileen Lee, founder of CowboyVC used the unicorn term to address a seed-stage venture capital fund-based company in Palo Alto, California.  

On the other hand, Decacorn is a term used for businesses over $10 Billion, while Hectocorn is used for companies or companies having value over $100 Billion.

Pandemic and Unicorn startup

Apparently, there has been a drastic change in every industry due to covid-19. However, many small businesses have become huge because of it. 

Many startups have touched the bottom line of the value that describes them as unicorns.

Obviously, that didn’t happen overnight.

This pandemic period has proved to be a golden time for many online businesses.

And that’s the reason plenty of small and large startups have become worth $1 Billion. 

Every literal service and product is available through an App. People enjoy this facility and the convenience of getting things done. 

Features of Unicorn startup

Becoming a Unicorn startups isn’t easy at all. It takes a lot of constant effort, patience, and hard work. Building a brand or company from scratch isn’t straightforward at all. 

It doesn’t have predefined features, but some common attributes are seen in all the unicorns.

Like,

It has been observed that most startups challenge the way people think and do things. Later, they create the needfulness for the same and provide the solution for it. 

More than 60% of the unicorn startups are B2B companies. Their ultimate goal is to simplify things. 

Generally, most unicorns are privately owned companies. However, in the future, established companies invest in these companies, and their value increases. 

Top Unicorn Startups in India

A private company having a value of over $1 Billion is a Unicorn. After beating the pandemic, several well-known startups that turned into unicorns are Unacademy, Nykaa, Postman, RazorPay, Grammarly, and Zerodha.

Some other Unicorn startups in India, along with their current value, are as follows-

• Groww – Groww is the second wealth management unicorn startup. The company is valued at over $1 Billion in May 2021. Groww was started in 2016 by four key people Lalit Keshre, Harsh Jain, Ishan Bansal, and Neeraj Singh. It is also known as the fastest-growing investment platform in India. 

• Paytm – Paytm is an Indian Digital Payment system and financial technology company. Paytm is privately owned by Vijay Shekhar Sharma. It was found in August 2010. It was valued at $10 Billion as of January 2018. Other Apps offered by Paytm are Paytm Mall, Paytm Smart Retail, Paytm payment Banks, etc.

• OYO – OYO Rooms is an Indian multinational hospitality company owned by Ritesh Agrawal and founded in 2013. This startup has been expanded across the world and has thousands of hotels in various countries. According to some industry sources, it is believed that OYO has reached the $9 Billion Mark. 

• Byju’s – Byju’s is an Indian EdTech company. It is India’s most valuable unicorn startup having a value of over $16 Billion. Byju’s was founded by Byju Raveendran and his wife Divya Gokulnath in 2011. The headquarters of Byju’s is in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. It is considered the most valuable education technology company around the world. 

• Zomato – Zomato, Who doesn’t know this company. It is an Indian multinational restaurant aggregator and food delivery services company. Zomato was founded by Pankaj Chhaddah and Deepinder Goyal in 2008. Records of 2019 show that its services are available in 24 countries. Currently, Zomato is valued at $5.4 Billion. 

Conclusion

Unicorn startups have become popular during the pandemic. These startups were built from scratch and are now valued at more than $1 Billion in a short period. The list of unicorn startups in India is never-ending. As long as people dare to think out of the box, we will see much more innovative startups that will blow the market. Do comment down your views on this article, and we would be delighted to hear them.