In a November 2013 blogpost, venture capitalist, Aileen Lee coined the term “unicorn” to refer to internet-based privately held companies worth more than $1 billion. Lee, the founder of Cowboy Ventures and an alumnus of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, concluded there were 39 members of the Unicorn Club. She looked at what these companies had in common and found that just 0.07 per cent of internet-based start-ups made it to unicorn status. “Takeaway: it’s really hard, and highly unlikely, to build or invest in a billion-dollar company,” she concluded. “The tech news may make it seem like there’s a…

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