I remember a conversation I had with a friend when I was first starting out.

We were brainstorming ideas, talking about how we’d love to build a product that changed the world — and maybe one day reach that elusive unicorn status.

It felt like a pipe dream at the time, but it also sparked a question: what actually helps a young startup get to a billion-dollar valuation?

Over the years, I’ve come to realize that this sort of success doesn’t usually happen by accident. It’s driven by certain “pillars” that can make or break a company’s ascent.

And while every startup is different, these four universal pillars seem to show up again and again in the stories of industry giants.

So, if you’re on a mission to grow your startup and maybe even put it on the path to becoming a unicorn, here are the 4 biggies I wish someone had spelled out for me when I was getting started.

1. Nail product-market fit early

There’s a lot of chatter about product-market fit (PMF), and for good reason: if you don’t nail it, scaling up becomes a whole lot harder.

When I launched my first startup in my 20s, I learned this lesson the hard way. I built a product I thought was awesome, but it turned out I was mostly solving my own problem — not my customers’.

After some humbling feedback, I shifted gears and locked in on a real customer need.

That pivot made all the difference.

According to Sequoia Capital’s Arc team, the single biggest differentiator among future unicorns is how fast they lock in product-market fit — outlining three distinct PMF ‘archetypes’ founders can map themselves against.  

The speed factor isn’t just about hustle — it’s about quickly testing assumptions, learning from customers, and adapting your product.

No matter what stage you’re in, the moment you think you’ve got a workable PMF, the real work begins: deepening it, defending it, and ensuring it aligns with your growth plans.

Let’s be honest: in the early days, you’re guessing. You might guess right on your first try, but that’s rare.

More likely, you’ll need to test, survey, talk to users, collect data, and iterate until you find that sweet spot.

If you sense you’re struggling to gain traction, it might be that you haven’t reached genuine PMF. In that case, doubling down on validation is often more important than speeding ahead to scale.

2. Design for network effects & platform scale

Ever wondered how certain companies skyrocket once people start using their products en masse?

It’s not just luck or marketing wizardry — it’s usually network effects.

In my experience, many founders get so focused on making a cool product that they forget to lay the groundwork for that built-in growth engine. If your product is more valuable when more people use it, you’re onto something special.

Harvard Business Review observed that 7 of the world’s ten most valuable companies — and more than 60% of unicorns — run platform business models that compound growth once they hit critical mass.

That’s a mind-blowing statistic if you think about it.

Whether you’re building a marketplace, social tool, or enterprise collaboration software, designing for network effects means each new user boosts the product’s value for everyone else.

But it’s not enough to just “go viral” in the early stages. The real payoff comes when you’ve structured your platform so it can handle — and even thrive on — exponential growth.

That might involve creating robust APIs, nurturing an ecosystem of developers, or supporting third-party integrations.

Startups that harness platform thinking and orchestrate their ecosystems properly can achieve an almost unstoppable momentum. If you do this well, you don’t just add users, you multiply value.

3. Build an AI-native operating model

I’ve mentioned this before, but it keeps proving itself true:

AI isn’t just a buzzword anymore. It’s a foundational force that’s reshaping entire industries.

When people talk about new unicorns, a huge chunk of them are AI-first. I saw it up close in a friend’s healthcare analytics startup — once they integrated machine learning into their data pipeline, interest from both investors and customers spiked dramatically.

CB Insights’ 2024–25 unicorn market map shows almost half of the newest billion-dollar startups are AI companies, underscoring investors’ bias toward AI-native plays.

In practical terms, that means you can’t just bolt AI on as an afterthought. It has to be baked into your company’s DNA.

• Are you collecting the right data from day one?
• Is your engineering team set up to train and deploy models quickly?
• Do you have processes in place for monitoring AI performance and making sure biases don’t creep in?

If you handle these fundamentals right from the get-go, you’ll build a future-proof operation that can pivot and adapt as the technology evolves.

There’s also a cultural element here.

People sometimes get intimidated by AI, worrying that it’s either too complicated or it’ll take over their jobs.

An AI-native model can’t succeed unless everyone in the company is both comfortable with and fluent in AI’s capabilities.

So, invest in training, foster cross-functional collaboration, and make your data scientists rock stars (but also keep them integrated with the rest of the team).

That’s how you create a system where innovation flows naturally.

4. Practice capital discipline & cultural resilience

Finally, let’s talk about a subject that doesn’t sound as flashy as AI but can make or break your journey: managing your money and building a sustainable culture.

I’ve lived through eras of easy capital and tough crunches, and trust me, nobody regrets learning how to do more with less.

Sequoia’s “Adapting to Endure” memo argues that enduring unicorns “keep burn multiples under 2×, hire slowly, and build a culture that can flex through downturns.”

That might mean saying no to a shiny new project that could burn capital for minimal payoff. Or it could mean staying patient when it comes to hiring.

My biggest hiring mistakes were usually made when I felt rushed to fill a position.

So I’ve come to appreciate the difference between proactive growth and reckless expansion.

Culture is just as important as the numbers.

When downturns hit or when you need to pivot, your team’s mindset can keep the company afloat or sink it.

Deloitte’s 2024 Gen Z & Millennial Survey found that the highest-valued startups balance aggressive growth with strong purpose-driven cultures, which helps them retain scarce tech talent at lower cost.

People want to work for companies they actually believe in. If you can align your financial discipline with a culture people love, you’ve got a recipe for lasting success.

So yes, dream big — but keep a realistic eye on your runway.

Figure out your burn rate, fundraise strategically, and maintain open communication with your team. That way, you’re equipped to handle the inevitable storms without losing sight of your long-term mission.

Conclusion

Chasing unicorn status isn’t a paint-by-numbers process. It’s a messy, exhilarating journey that demands laser focus on a few core pillars. Everything starts with product-market fit.

If your product doesn’t solve a real problem for real customers, no fancy growth hacks or AI magic can save you.

Then, by designing for network effects, you build an engine that gains momentum as you grow.

Layer on an AI-native approach — this step is increasingly non-negotiable — and you’ll likely find investors and users paying a whole lot more attention.

And through it all, staying disciplined with your finances and fostering a culture of resilience will keep you on track when the pressure mounts.

I’m not promising overnight success, though.

But if you get these fundamentals down, you’ll be positioning your startup to thrive in the long run.

And that’s what actually matters — because as flashy as the unicorn label is, the real victory comes from building something that can stand the test of time (and the next big market swing).