4 ms·

There are hidden "unicorns" everywhere. Sometime ago I heard Germany had a lot of "small" companies that are leaders in their market niche but you don't have it

by eb0la 6y ago

There are hidden "unicorns" everywhere. Sometime ago I heard Germany had a lot of "small" companies that are leaders in their market niche but you don't have it in the radar. For instance: Hohner (the Harmonica manufacturer), or Flexi (dog leashes) Every country has some of this hidden unicorns; but it is easier to spot them from the distance.

heipei 6y ago
For what it's worth, those German Mittelstand companies are the exact opposite of what's usually referred to as a unicorn. They are small to medium-size, multi-generational family-run and family-owned businesses that focus on a very narrow set of products, such as just making gears for automative applications, or ball bearings, or blades. The people working there often work there their whole life, with the understanding that the company doesn't take any gambles and will do its utmost to not lay them off even in recessions such as right now.
- rorykoehler 6y ago
  Doesn't unicorn just mean $1B+ valuation?
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
  - andrewwharton 6y ago
    And that hasn't IPO'd yet.
  - luckylion 6y ago
    I think it has to be a startup, i.e. recently founded, hyper growth, usually VC-funded. A company worth a lot of money that has existed for 80 years isn't a unicorn, it's just a company worth $1B+.
    - rorykoehler 6y ago
      When is a startup not a startup anymore. Are Facebook and Google still startups?
      - luckylion 6y ago
        In my opinion they are not. They were and became unicorns, but they're not any longer, they are regular Fortune 500 corporations.
      - kirubakaran 6y ago
        I like Steve Blank's definition of a start-up: "a temporary organization used to search for a repeatable and scalable business model" Once you're executing on a scalable business model, you're a regular business.
Ndymium 6y ago
Heh, in Finnish the general term "fleksi" means an adjustable dog leash. That's how ubiquitous the Flexi is in that category. Like "styroksi" for EPS (from Styrox) or "kyprokki" for drywall (from Gyproc).

by eb0la 6y ago

heipei 6y ago

For what it's worth, those German Mittelstand companies are the exact opposite of what's usually referred to as a unicorn. They are small to medium-size, multi-generational family-run and family-owned businesses that focus on a very narrow set of products, such as just making gears for automative applications, or ball bearings, or blades. The people working there often work there their whole life, with the understanding that the company doesn't take any gambles and will do its utmost to not lay them off even in recessions such as right now.

rorykoehler 6y ago
Doesn't unicorn just mean $1B+ valuation?
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- andrewwharton 6y ago
  And that hasn't IPO'd yet.
- luckylion 6y ago
  I think it has to be a startup, i.e. recently founded, hyper growth, usually VC-funded. A company worth a lot of money that has existed for 80 years isn't a unicorn, it's just a company worth $1B+.
  - rorykoehler 6y ago
    When is a startup not a startup anymore. Are Facebook and Google still startups?
    - luckylion 6y ago
      In my opinion they are not. They were and became unicorns, but they're not any longer, they are regular Fortune 500 corporations.
    - kirubakaran 6y ago
      I like Steve Blank's definition of a start-up: "a temporary organization used to search for a repeatable and scalable business model" Once you're executing on a scalable business model, you're a regular business.

Ndymium 6y ago

Heh, in Finnish the general term "fleksi" means an adjustable dog leash. That's how ubiquitous the Flexi is in that category. Like "styroksi" for EPS (from Styrox) or "kyprokki" for drywall (from Gyproc).