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What a Unicorn Knows
What a Unicorn Knows is your company’s best guide to becoming a well-oiled, high-velocity machine for growth on its way to billion-dollar valuation.
Why do some young companies become unicorns, while others don’t?
It’s easy for scale-ups, giddy from early startup success, to get ahead of themselves and stumble. It’s even easier to be slowed down by the many forces of resistance working against them: drag, inertia, friction, and waste.
Offered as a playbook for exponential growth, What a Unicorn Knows offers a field-tested approach to delivering superior customer value and reaching unicorn status by removing the potential inhibitors to organizational scale and speed.
Drawing on a mastery of lean-based methods for achieving maximum effect with minimum means, private equity operators Matthew E. May and Pablo Dominguez provide readers with a powerful framework of universally applicable principles that enable any company to effectively accelerate its ability to scale and grow.
Called The Unicorn Model™ and built on five foundational principles, the authors deliver a compelling narrative of stories and experiences in an easy-to-remember mnemonic, S.C.A.L.E.:
Strategic speed
Constant experimentation
Accelerated value
Lean process
Esprit de corps
Drawn from the authors’ successful track record in using S.C.A.L.E. with a wide variety of unicorn-level companies, What a Unicorn Knows offers a necessary guide for rapid but lasting growth. As more companies than ever vie for unicorn status, competitive edge will depend on learning from the best. The Unicorn Model™ promises to keep your company speeding toward lasting marketplace success.
Why do some young companies become unicorns, while others don’t?
It’s easy for scale-ups, giddy from early startup success, to get ahead of themselves and stumble. It’s even easier to be slowed down by the many forces of resistance working against them: drag, inertia, friction, and waste.
Offered as a playbook for exponential growth, What a Unicorn Knows offers a field-tested approach to delivering superior customer value and reaching unicorn status by removing the potential inhibitors to organizational scale and speed.
Drawing on a mastery of lean-based methods for achieving maximum effect with minimum means, private equity operators Matthew E. May and Pablo Dominguez provide readers with a powerful framework of universally applicable principles that enable any company to effectively accelerate its ability to scale and grow.
Called The Unicorn Model™ and built on five foundational principles, the authors deliver a compelling narrative of stories and experiences in an easy-to-remember mnemonic, S.C.A.L.E.:
Strategic speed
Constant experimentation
Accelerated value
Lean process
Esprit de corps
Drawn from the authors’ successful track record in using S.C.A.L.E. with a wide variety of unicorn-level companies, What a Unicorn Knows offers a necessary guide for rapid but lasting growth. As more companies than ever vie for unicorn status, competitive edge will depend on learning from the best. The Unicorn Model™ promises to keep your company speeding toward lasting marketplace success.
- GenresBusinessNonfiction
240 pages, Hardcover
Published February 21, 2023
35 people are currently reading
160 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 3, 2025
Practical and useful, though not particularly original.
What a Unicorn Knows is a practical guide for leaders in high-growth companies, covering frameworks like OKRs, Jobs-to-be-Done, and “Playing to Win.” It introduces useful ideas about the forces that hinder growth—drag, inertia, friction, and waste—with solutions like Strategic Speed, Constant Experimentation, and Lean Process. The concept of Esprit de Corps as a solution to all four challenges is a standout.
While the book offers helpful templates and advice, it often feels like a rehash of familiar ideas with little new depth. I nearly stopped reading early on due to the weak treatment of OKRs but found it worthwhile to finish. It’s not groundbreaking, but it has enough insights to revisit.
Rating: 4/5 (I am being generous)
What a Unicorn Knows is a practical guide for leaders in high-growth companies, covering frameworks like OKRs, Jobs-to-be-Done, and “Playing to Win.” It introduces useful ideas about the forces that hinder growth—drag, inertia, friction, and waste—with solutions like Strategic Speed, Constant Experimentation, and Lean Process. The concept of Esprit de Corps as a solution to all four challenges is a standout.
While the book offers helpful templates and advice, it often feels like a rehash of familiar ideas with little new depth. I nearly stopped reading early on due to the weak treatment of OKRs but found it worthwhile to finish. It’s not groundbreaking, but it has enough insights to revisit.
Rating: 4/5 (I am being generous)
December 18, 2024
“What Unicorns Know” is a masterclass in distilling the key principles that drive extraordinary success in startups. Packed with actionable insights, it provides a clear roadmap for navigating the challenges of early-stage growth.
As the CEO of a growing tech company, I found its strategies on team alignment, scaling processes, and staying customer-focused to be invaluable. It’s a must-read for anyone aiming to build a business with purpose and resilience.
Highly recommend to founders seeking clarity and momentum in their journey to success!
As the CEO of a growing tech company, I found its strategies on team alignment, scaling processes, and staying customer-focused to be invaluable. It’s a must-read for anyone aiming to build a business with purpose and resilience.
Highly recommend to founders seeking clarity and momentum in their journey to success!
March 16, 2023
Very good book for startups who have found product/market fit and are looking for tools to grow into a unicorn.
April 21, 2023
Clear a lot of effort has gone into the writing of this book. It is neat and fun to read.
Yet, I am yet to understand what new it brings to Startup journeys in terms of strategy.
Yet, I am yet to understand what new it brings to Startup journeys in terms of strategy.
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August 20, 2023DNF. Derivative and unengaging.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews