P R I O R
R O L E
E M P L OY E R E N T R E P R E N E U R S H I P
Product,
Engineering
Consulting,
BizDev,
Marketing
Worked at
a Big 5 tech
company
Science or
engineering
grad degree
No full-time
job prior
to unicorn
Finance
Worked at
a Big 3
consulting firm
Worked at other
entrepreneurial
company
Founded other
entrepreneurial company
Worked at
a bulge
bracket bank
Founded
unicorn
company
L E G E N D
Unicorn Founders
Key Experiences
Emerging Markets
United States
The size of the node
reflects the number
of founders with that
experience.
Released in October, Endeavor Insight's latest
research project took a granular look at the career
pathways of 200 unicorn founders — 100 from
companies based in the United States and 100 in
emerging markets — to better understand the most
important entrepreneurial success factors, as well
as any geographical differences. The resulting
report — Where Do Unicorns Come From? — used
in-depth, data-driven analysis to show unicorn
founders are far from the hoodie wearing, valuation
obsessed college drop-outs of so many stereotypes.
Read on to learn about a few of the many myths
debunked by the research into the changing
pathways to entrepreneurial success.
There is not one wide, straight road to becoming a
unicorn founder. Entrepreneurs take many, twisty,
unpredictable paths to success.
Check the full report and data explainer here.
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