It is well known that high-tech startups need to innovate to survive, yet the failure rate for innovation is shockingly high. Nearly three out of four new products or services, i.e., their startups, miss their revenue and profit goals–or fail entirely. It’s a misconception that high-tech startups fail only because of the failing products or finances. The failures could also be because of erroneous choice of technology platforms, development teams or methodology, or even the project execution. Accordingly, this book takes a holistic view of a startups’ aesthetics that enables it to become attractive for all stakeholders especially investors in all aspects of its operations at all stages of its lifecycle. This book: Looks at aspects of venture capital financing and what investors look for in a contemporary startup. Shows how only an overarching aspiration for a startup to become a Unicorn is sufficient to explain the typical characteristics of legendry Silicon Valley Unicorns like Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Covers major application areas of current/future interest, namely, intelligent systems, intelligent assistants, wireless sensor networks, Internet of Things (IoT), and blockchain systems. Introduces the contemporary skills-set in demand for Startups. To succinctly cover all aspects of a contemporary startup, Unleashing the Startup Unicorn is organized to reflect the natural grouping of competencies that are essential for entrepreneurial ventures–from conception to successful exit. To understand and analyze these competencies, the book uses an extended 9S model inspired by the pioneering McKinsey 7S model.

The real-world secrets to startup success Unicorn Tears is the smart entrepreneur’s guide to startups. A full 92% of startups fail in the first three years — but failure is not inevitable. Most of these companies self-sabotage, unconsciously eliminating any chance at success before they even get started. It’s not the economy, it’s not politics, it’s not external factors; failure comes from within. This book shows you how to be one of the unicorns — one of the 8% who make it. Be prepared to un-learn everything you thought you knew about startups, as author Jamie Pride busts the harmful myths that lead so many companies to failure. Drawing upon his history as a venture capitalist, he reveals what investors want to see and hear, and what final factor puts your venture firmly into the “yes” column. Pride understands what matters in startups, and what gets in the way; his Hollywood Method for start-up success gives you a proven formula based on the tried-and-true framework Hollywood uses to make movies that succeed around the globe. Case studies illustrate what success looks like on the ground, and brings a global perspective to successful entrepreneurship and the strategies that help your business grow. Learn the truth behind the eight myths of startups Adopt a proven formula for success based on Hollywood blockbusters Craft a winning pitch to bring investors — and capital — over to your side Gain real-world perspective on startups and future trends Everyone wants their business to succeed, but wanting means nothing without a solid plan and the means to implement it. Unicorn Tears helps you set yourself up for success, and gives you the tools to forge your path to the top.

Bringing hard data to the way we think about entrepreneurial success, this bold call to action draws on the latest scientific evidence to dispel the most pervasive startup myths and light a path to entrepreneurship for those eclipsed by the hype. When you think of a successful entrepreneur, who comes to mind? Bill Gates? Mark Zuckerberg? Or maybe even Jesse Eisenberg, the man who played Zuckerberg in The Social Network? It may surprise you that most successful founders look very different from Zuckerberg or Gates. In fact, most startup origin stories are very different from the famous "unicorns" that have achieved valuations of over $1 billion, from Facebook to Google to Uber. In The Unicorn's Shadow: Combating the Dangerous Myths that Hold Back Startups, Founders, and Investors, Wharton School professor Ethan Mollick takes us to the forefront of an empirical revolution in entrepreneurship. New data and better research methods have overturned the conventional wisdom behind what a successful founder looks like, how they succeed, and how the startup ecosystem works. Among the issues he examines: Which founders are most likely to succeed?Where do the best startup ideas come from?What's the most foolproof way of securing the funding needed to take a company to the next level?Should your sales pitch really be something out of Hollywood?What's the best way to grow and scale your company and create a thriving culture that won't hinder expansion? Mollick argues that entrepreneurship is too important, both for society and for the individuals who start companies, to be eclipsed by the shadows of unicorns. He shows we can democratize entrepreneurship—but only by following an evidence-based approach that puts to rest the false narratives that surround it.

Imagine if the multinational hotel groups had founded Airbnb, or the big auto companies had launched Uber and Tesla, or Blockbuster had created Netflix. Large companies can start new ventures. You have ideas, talent, brand, capital—you have customers—you can strike back. In The Unicorn Within, Mach49 founder and CEO Linda Yates empowers large companies to beat startups at their own game—to build a pipeline and portfolio of new ventures to drive meaningful growth. How? With a teachable, repeatable, scalable method focused 100 percent on execution across the spectrum of venture creation from Ideate to Incubate, Accelerate, and Scale. She also offers keys to managing the Mothership and seizing the Mothership advantage to ensure your ventures reach escape velocity and thrive. And don't stop at just one venture. Yates also lays out her blueprint for building a Venture Factory capable of becoming your company's growth engine for years to come. The next Unicorns don't have to come from Silicon Valley. Regardless of your company's industry, geography, or history, they can come from you. Whether you're the CEO, a member of the C-suite, or an internal entrepreneur, you can help your company grow. With this book's proven method, you can unleash the Unicorn within.

The years 2015 and 2016 were watershed years in the history of the Indian startup ecosystem. Not only did the word 'startup' enter common parlance as large sums of money were poured in, several firms also achieved the fabled 'unicorn' status of billion-dollar valuation. However, immediately afterwards, the exuberance disappeared as the bubble burst and the very viability of these celebrated ventures came into question. And with it, began a new era. In Flight of the Unicorns, Soum Paul takes a deep dive into the trajectory of Indian startups in the recent past and explores the trials and tribulations of starting up. Through the voices of many innovators, entrepreneurs and investors, he studies the patterns in successes and parallels from other emerging markets. He builds on theories around what works and what doesn't, and paints a vision for the future of startups in this part of the world.

Do you have the key to building a billion-dollar business in an emerging economy? The entrepreneurs in this book do. Unlocking Unicorns features diverse stories from successful billion-dollar startup founders in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Learn about how the internet is revolutionizing non-Western countries and corporations through stories that touch on: Philosophies such as "Guanxi" and mental models such as the "Regret Minimization Framework" The journeys of ten diverse entrepreneurs including Jack Ma (founder of AliBaba), Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (founder of Biocon), Mudassir Sheikha (founder of Careem), Bang Si-Hyuk (producer behind BTS), Cher Wang (founder of HTC), Mitchell Elegbe (founder of Africa's first billion-dollar FinTech company), and more Michael Bervell's three-part framework that can be applied within any industry focused on exploration, refinement, and execution. Discover the mental models and characteristics that enabled founders in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East to overcome and adapt to brain drain, leapfrogging technologies, location-based discrimination, and government unrest. Unlocking Unicorns is the key to success for aspiring global founders or emerging economy investors who want to do business in the international, interconnected 21st century.