The rise of the camel!

In Silicon Valley, the entire ecosystem is aligned around one thing: the cultivation of unicorns — a startup valued over $1 billion. Unicorns were once a rare breed, but in recent years, the stable of billion-dollar stallions has grown to about 350 unicorns around the world. 

Even before the coronavirus shocked markets, the sheen was starting to fade from Silicon Valley’s obsession with finding, funding, and building the next unicorn — the valley’s nickname for startups valued at over a billion dollars. The collapse of companies with runaway valuations like WeWork and Brandless exposed flaws with the valley’s preferred strategies of “blitzscaling” and relying on VC-subsidized products.

A camel, when referring to startups, is essentially a company with the following characteristics:

Resilient–they are preparing for the future through thoughtful, strategic growth.

Cautious–they maintain reserves to help get through tough times and replenish during the good. Their value lies in being financially conservative, hiring the right team, and focusing on building the technology that will revolutionize their industries.

Committed–they are dedicated to business-building fundamentals and stress positive unit economics early on, and every day, to ensure the impact on long-term success.

Customer-focused–the products they deliver and business models are all driven by customer's needs.

With the coronavirus pandemic hitting the startup industry hard, the number of deals taking place is going to decline. VCs will certainly continue to look for the next great startup, but it is going to be harder to secure funds than before. For those who haven’t taken on a camel mindset, the time to do so is now.