Unicorns vs Dragons: Comparing two mythical beasts

Almost 1,300 'unicorns' in 2023

When investing in early-stage startups and scale-ups, often the ultimate ambition is for companies to achieve coveted ‘unicorn’ status: a valuation in excess of $1bn.

Unicorn status is widely considered the gold-standard, given the likelihood of outsized returns that will come with such high valuations.  At the time when the term ‘unicorn' was first coined by Aileen Lee in 2013, billion-dollar valuations were as rare as the name suggests. However, with 580 new unicorn companies in 2021 alone and 1,279 active unicorns as of April 2023 (Pitchbook), while still difficult to achieve, unicorns are now more commonplace. FTSE Small Cap set to compete with FTSE 100 on dividends in 2023 While "hunting" unicorns is still part of a high-performing inves...