The Real Deal

Unicorns Do Exist – In The Business World At Least. Across The Globe, Privately Held Start-ups Are Breaking Through The Billion-dollar Barrier With Increasing Frequency – And A Silicon Valley Postcode Isn’t Obligatory.

- Chrissie Mcclatchie

When venture capitalist Aileen Lee coined the term ‘unicorn’ back in 2013, private companies valued at greater than US$1 billion (A$1.47 billion) were almost as rare as the mythical animal. Fast-forward six years and the phenomenon is not as fanciful as it originally appeared: as of June 2019, there were 360 unicorns globally, with a collective worth of over US$1 trillion, according to industry analysts CB Insights. Our business vocabulary has also expanded to make room for further definitions: decacorn (valued at US$10 billion) and hectocorn (over US$100 billion, although no company currently falls into the category).

Despite having over 50 start-ups valued at over A$100 million, Australia has just three unicorn companies: Canva, Airwallex and Judo Capital (Atlassian, the country’s first-ever unicorn, is no longer privately held). Founded by Melanie Perkins, Canva was one of approximately 11 per cent of unicorns with at least one female founder in 2018, according to data released by insights platform Pitchbook.

It seems there’s no avoiding the glass ceiling, even at the top. Pitchbook has calculated that, in the US, female-only start-ups received a mere 2.3 per cent of the total venture capital funding last year. Fortunately, even before the halfway point of this year, the outlook is more positive: at the end of quarter one 2019, 27 per cent of unicorn companies had a female on the founding team.