Don’t Join a Unicorn 🦄, Join a Freakin Griffin 🦁➕🦅
(2 Min Read) How to find the next startup that is more than a unicorn.
Every startup wishes to become a unicorn. And with current market evaluation, it seems like every startup is.
Series B companies are raising >$50M+ at $1B evaluation. Series C and Series D are that $2B+ evaluation raising >$100M+ funding rounds. I don't know if the evaluation is correct, but it seems overinflated to me.
To be clear, I am not jealous or angry, or hurt that startups are evaluated at >$1B+. I am not even doubting any companies potential to be a unicorn this early. I am just skeptical that when everyone is a unicorn, no one is a unicorn.
And that's a problem for engineers who dream of joining an early-stage unicorn.
I am sure that many engineers (especially in BayArea) are getting emails from recruiters at startups asking to join their unicorns. But there are so many. Which to pick?
My answer is don't join the unicorn. Join a Freakin Griffin.
GRIFFIN 👑
Why Griffin? If you think unicorns are magical, check out a Griffin.
Wiki: "Because the lion was traditionally considered the king of the beasts, and the eagle the king of the birds, by the Middle Ages, the Griffin was thought to be an especially powerful and majestic creature. Since classical antiquity, griffins were known for guarding treasures and priceless possessions."
If unicorns are >$1B+ evaluation companies, Griffins should be >$10B+ evaluation. If I were looking for a job, I would want to join an early-stage king of startups, Griffin, and not just an already discovered unicorn.
How do you find a Griffin?
Like unicorns, they are hard to find. They are mystical creatures who are a rarity. Finding them shouldn't be easy. Finding a freakin griffin should be challenging and almost impossible.
The good news is that with the abundance of unicorns, it is possible to find a Griffin. And for that, we need the ability to predict the future or make a decent prediction about the future. Here are a few industries where I think Griffin's will emerge.
Griffins Hiding Space
There is no doubt that the next Griffin will be a tech company that's disrupting an industry. Here are a few industries that come to mind:
Healthcare
Climate Change
Work industry (/r/antiwork shows why people are leaving their jobs)
Web3 and Crypto
Metaverse
I am sure there are other industries like FinTech, Autonomous, RealEstate, etc., where Griffins may be hiding. I only have the above industry on my radar but it’s an ever-growing list.
Joining a Griffin or a Unicorn
Joining a company requires you to go through the interview process. I have written a lot about these topics recently, and a few of them made it to the front page of hacker news. Here are those posts. I hope you find them helpful:
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🏆 😊 Top posts that made it to the front page of hacker news with comment thread.