In the venture capital industry, a unicorn refers to any tech startup company that reaches a $1 billion dollar market value as determined by private or public investment. The term was originally coined in 2013 by venture capitalist Aileen Lee, choosing the mythical animal to represent the statistical rarity of such successful ventures. Last year, CB Insights reported that the odds of becoming a unicorn — a company valued at $1 billion or more — was less than 1% for companies that had raised venture capital. In 2018, there were 47 tech companies in the US to reach this unicorn status, according to data provided by PitchBook.
In the cybersecurity industry, Gary S. Miliefsky coined the term black unicorn as a cybersecurity tech company that has the potential to reach a $1 billion dollar market value as determined by private or public investment. The black unicorn awards are designed to help showcase companies with this kind of potential. Ultimately, the judging in our awards is tough and its still up to the finalists and the winners to execute a flawless business model to reach this potential. It takes innovation, dedication, passion – the right team and the right cyber security solution, harmoniously executed to become a unicorn. If you are one of our winners, the judges believe you have this potential. While there are no guarantees, your discovery and our award signify you meet the criterial – it’s up to you to execute and meet all the challenges that follow.
Do you have what it takes to be a Black Unicorn? Let’s find out…