The Quest to Find A Unicorn: VC Myth Becomes Investment Payoff in 2015 by Sachs insights

A “unicorn” is every venture capitalist’s dream. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of funding a startup that surpasses a $1 billion pre-IPO valuation? While Aileen Lee of Cowboy Ventures coined the term for these seemingly illusive companies in 2013, unicorns are no longer as mythological as investors think in 2015.

The goal of this infographic was to illustrate patterns about the unicorns. We used Fortune’s “The Unicorn List” article as a springboard to aggregate the 138 startups’ sectors, locations, ages, and the CEOs' gender and education. The results are fascinating. We then conducted desk research to collect more in-depth facts about each of these categories. After data aggregation, we analyzed the data for trends. Ultimately, we mapped out these startups’ distinguishing characteristics through the metaphor of a “quest to find a unicorn.”