Do you believe in unicorns? What if I told you that they actually exist?
No, I’m not going crazy, the unicorns I’m talking about are not the mythical creature with a horn on its forehead.
What I mean is a unicorn company!
Speaking about unicorn companies, we immediately think about Uber, Airbnb, Didi, Pinterest, Snap, etc. But few people know what the unicorn companies really are.
Why do some startups get this name? Is this title given only to startups that belong to a certain niche? Today we will answer all your frequently asked questions about unicorn companies.
Unicorn company: What is it?
From the long-forgotten medieval fairy tales about unicorns, they migrated to us today. But the definition of this word has changed slightly.
In 2013, the concept of “unicorn companies” was invented by Cowboy founder Eileen Lee. They mentioned 39 startups valued at more than $1 billion. The term emphasized the rarity of such startups. Since then, the value of “unicorn company” has not changed: it is a startup founded after 2003, the current value of which is more than $1 billion. Since 2013, the number of unicorn companies has increased several times, and their examples are:
Uber ($68 billion);
Didi Chuxing ($56 billion);
Xiomi ($46 billion);
Meituan Dianping ($30 billion);
Airbnb ($29.3 billion).
Features of the Unicorn Company
Every year, on average, four new unicorns appear in the world. But what distinguishes them from thousands of other startups? There are several criteria for this:
Subversive innovation. Almost all unicorn companies have destroyed the industry they belong to. Uber has changed the way people order cabs, Airbnb has benefited from the sharing economy, Snapchat has destroyed the social networking industry.
The advantage of a pioneer. The destruction and the pioneer’s advantage go hand in hand. Unicorns not only benefit from the pioneer’s advantages, but they also maintain their position by constantly innovating and improving.
Consumer orientation. 62% of unicorns are B2C, and their business models aim to make things easier and more accessible to consumers. Spotify makes it easy to listen to the world’s music, and Instacart lets you order products in one click.
Technology paradigm shift. 87% of Unicorn products are software, 7% is hardware, and the remaining 6% are other products and services. Almost all unicorns have so far benefited from a market that is undergoing a technological paradigm shift. Uber provided one-click cab booking, Airbnb made it possible to exchange cabs over the Internet, Dropbox – using cloud technology.
Private companies. Most unicorns are private companies, which are valued when a large company acquires or invests in them.
So, to sum up, unicorns are startups unlisted on the stock exchange market and valued at over one billion dollars by investors.
CBInsights counts 483 unicorns in the world, all sectors included. The website Skift created a ranking of 45 unicorns specialized in the travel industry. Here are some of them.
Uber is obviously in the list. No introduction necessary, the young sprout quickly became a beautiful plant, valued at 51 billion dollars.
Up next in Airbnb, valued at 25.50 billion dollars.
Didi Chuxing, a Chinese startup is number one on the list with 57,6 billion dollars. It was born in February 2013 from the fusion of two taxi applications (previously rivals).
In less than 5 months, the young sprout blossomed by raising the record amount of two billion dollars from a sovereign Chinese fund.
The only French startup of the ranking, Blablacar (1.60 billion), holds the 25th spot.
Amongst the 45 startups, there are 17 American companies and 12 coming from China, the main leaders.
Here are some fun facts for you:
Representatives of Sage company, which develops software solutions in the field of enterprise management for medium and small businesses, published a study where they compared the main indicators of unicorn companies and identified a number of regularities.
Here’s what they found:
– 94% of unicorn company founders are men, and only 6% are women.
– The three main alma mater of company founders “for a billion” are Stanford, Harvard and the University of California.
– Most unicorn companies are located in California. New York is in second place, and Hong Kong is in the third. In Europe, the leader by the number of unicorn companies is London. The second place is occupied by Berlin, the third – by Stockholm.
– 67% of companies are based on the principle of co-funding. 37% are founded by one person. For 60% of founders, this is the first business. 23% are successful at the second attempt.
– A company founded by a person with experience in starting a business is rated higher than the one founded by a newcomer. On average, it is 5.88 billion dollars against 4.29 billion, respectively.
– The top 3 areas where unicorn companies are most frequently encountered are the Internet, software and e-commerce. But the list of areas with the most expensive companies is slightly different from the previous one.
– The Internet is still ahead – there the total value of companies is about 319 billion dollars. However, the second place is occupied by representatives of the financial sector with 132 billion dollars. The third place is for e-commerce.
– The total value of companies from this area is about 125 billion dollars.
– As of 2020, 29 unicorn companies are celebrating their 10th anniversary. Most of the multimillion-dollar companies began their work in 2007.
– 35% of companies reached the unicorn status in the fourth year of existence. In 2014, 58 companies became unicorns.
– In 2015, 86 companies achieved this indicator, but in 2016 – only 41. In 2016, the companies most quickly achieved the status of unicorns.
– In 2016, China and the U.S. went nose to nose in the number of companies that have crossed the mark of a billion. U.S. and China equally share the top 10 most expensive companies.
– A total of 452 companies in the U.S. are unicorns. In China – 206, in India – 61. The most expensive unicorn company – Ant Financial, it is estimated at 150 billion dollars. Only one of the top 10 companies was founded in the 90s – Alibaba (NYSE: BABA), number five. It started its activity in 1999.
Now let’s move to our lovely protagonist, Pickvisa.com!
What is Pickvisa.com?
Pickvisa.com is an online platform that provides services in obtaining any visa types to any country worldwide. As visa application processes are complex and time-consuming, they require a detailed approach, and this is where the professional guidance is needed.
What makes Pickvisa.com unique in the service market?
– the user-friendly interface of the website
– specialization exclusively on visa issues
– extensive database with information about the visa requirements of any country in the world
– customers` involvement in the visa process is at a minimum
Pickvisa does all visa procedures on behalf of applicants in order to get a visa. The young team does its best to serve the customers with the highest quality. They collect the required information and some basic documents from you, then process with the application procedures. The services include individual visa consultancy, filling the visa application forms, reservation of flight tickets, booking accommodations, controlling and checking visa documents package, following up with a visa procedure, etc. The team also offers additional services that depend on your visa application.
What differs Pickvisa.com from Visa Application Centres (VACs)?
Visa Application Centres are private companies that have formal contracts with the government of the represented country, while Pickvisa is a private company that provides services in obtaining visas to any country worldwide for any nationals. Basically, Pickvisa prepares all your documents for you to apply in an embassy or a Visa Application Centre. VAC’s primary responsibility is to send applicants` applications securely and passport to the official visa-issuing authorities such as visa offices, embassies and consulates of country.
So, why Pickvisa.com can possibly be the next unicorn in the travel industry?
Let’s go back to the list of criteria each unicorn is famous for:
Subversive innovation. Pickvisa is changing the travel industry by taking it to the next level, aka taking the most stressful point of it online. So, first criteria – check!
The advantage of a pioneer. Pickvisa is one of the first companies offering a full cycle of the services connected to the visa application, keeping with emerging trends and innovations.
Consumer orientation. 100% match. The service has been created for the customers mainly and with a primary goal of making their life easier by offering the most comfortable service, constant customer support and clear usability along with providing useful travel information via blogs section at the website.
Technology paradigm shift. Just like most unicorns, Pickvisa is fully immersed in the digital world, taking all the services online and working on additional ones at the same time. Some of the extraordinary tools that the startup plans to launch soon are as follows:
- Visachance Calculator.
The tool will ask you some questions and let you know the chance of obtaining visa to any country in any visa type. It will help you to understand your visa profile, specific countries potential visa requirements, and potential visa cost savings if your chance is extremely low to obtain needed visa. That is cool, isn’t it?!
- Covid Test Centres Worldwide Database.
In these days, travellers are looking for Official Test Centres for Covid 19 tests before traveling. This database will let you search for official test centres around you and find out their contact details, processing cost and processing times.
- Visa Maps.
Have you ever wondered where you can travel with US visa except USA? Bingo! With this extension, travellers will be able to add their passport and active visas to find out where they can travel as a whole map!
- Embassies and Consulates Worldwide Database.
Do you need any contact details and addresses of any diplomatic missions,embassies, or consulates of any countries in all over the world? Here we go!
They have more, cool visa and travel tools that you can check in their website.
Private companies. Pickvisa is a private company, with a team of young professionals eager to help and constantly innovate. In our fast-changing world, it’s important to keep up with innovation, remember about customer needs and be flexible. Considering the main values of Pickvisa, this company has it all to become the next unicorn! You can always check their website (pickvisa.com) to keep yourself informed about their updates, read travel blogs or get precise visa information.
