VIDEO: The Misguided Hunt For Startup Unicorns

It’s time to stop promoting the chase for billion-dollar valuations

You aren’t good enough.

That’s the message that gets repeated over and over again to founders and entrepreneurs. Well, it’s not so much a message spoken outright. At least I hope not. It’s just implied. By people who should know better. By people who, in fact, say they know better.

The implication is that your startup is nothing unless you’re actively pursuing membership in the unicorn club.

Let’s talk about the damage that does to startups.

If you’ve already read the post, there’s some extra commentary at the end of the video.

This post originally appeared in Inc Magazine, where I write a weekly column. Please join my email list at joeprocopio.com, and I’ll send you brief emails whenever I post to Medium, Inc., Built In, or whatever.

My public writing is for entertainment value, mostly. If you want my real startup and business advice, try Teaching Startup, my project to make advice more actionable and affordable.