Brief Connotation: Minicorn, Soonicorn, Unicorn, Super Unicorn, and Hectocorn Companies

In the world of business, Unicorn is a very familiar term. Well, it’s not some mythical creature that we are talking about. Every day millions of companies are launching and working hard to become successful giant companies.

Companies are distinguished based on their valuation which makes them fit into the terms Minicorn, Soonicorn, Unicorn, Hectocorn, and Super Unicorn Companies.

Let’s discuss these companies in brief today.

What is a Minicorn Company?

Minicorn startups are companies with more than $1 million valuations and are still rising to become unicorn businesses. Every startup has the goal of making its company a unicorn but only a few of them actually make it.

Here is the name of the few Minicorn Companies:

1. Shieldpay

Shieldpay provides simple and transparent payment solutions to legal and professional services industries, marketplaces, and e-commerce platforms.

2. Know Your Customer

Know your customer is an application designed to protect financial organizations, and institutions from corruption, and fraudulent and unethical activities.

3. 1partPet

1partPet is an innovative device, data, and platform provider servicing the £91bn animal services industry.

What is a Soonicorn Company?

Soonicorn refers to “soon-to-be-unicorn” a recently launched business that has the potential to become a “unicorn”. Soonicorn is a company that enters into Soonicorn clubs with a valuation closer to a $1 billion asset.

Here are a few examples of Soonicorn Businesses Startups:

1. BankBazaar

BankBazaar is India’s largest Fintech online platform that gives customers instant customized quotes on loans, credit cards, mutual funds & insurance products. Originated in 2008. Having a funding of 115 dollars million and a valuation of $258M as on Apr 10, 2020

2. Boat

An India-based consumer electronics brand established in 2015 that markets earphones, headphones stereos, travel chargers, and premium rugged cables. Was originated in 2016. Its funding is 116 dollars Mn.

3. Bluestone

BlueStone is India’s leading destination for high-quality fine jewelry with strikingly exquisite designs. It was founded in 2011 having total funding of 100 dollars mn.

What is a Unicorn Company?

The term “ Unicorn” is used for an imaginary creature like a horse with a single white horn on its head. In the business world term, ‘’Unicorn’’ refers to a private company that reaches a valuation of $1 billion.

The term unicorn is of recent origin in the business world and was first initiated in 2013 by venture capitalist Aileen Lee, who chose a mythical creature to represent the statistical rarity of such successful ventures.

CB Insights reported 1,170 unicorns worldwide as of June 2022. According to Inc42.com, 2021 was a blockbuster year for unicorns. It saw over 42 startups and 2 listed companies touching the billion-dollar valuation.

Here are some examples of Startups that entered Unicorn Club in 2022:

1. Xpressbees

The Pune-based startup is the latest entrant to the Indian unicorn club. It was observed that Xpressbees currently has 100 hubs across India with over 10 lakh sq ft warehouse capacity and operates across 52 airports.

2. Canva

Canva is an online platform for graphic design founded by Melanie Perkins. Canva went public in November 2018 with a valuation of $3.2 billion. In 2019, the company was valued at $6 billion after raising $85 million in new funding. Canva is now a unicorn company.

4. Calendly

Calendly is a software company that develops a platform used for teams to schedule, prepare and follow up on external meetings. It was founded in the year 2013 by Nigerian-born entrepreneur Tope Awotona. As of January 2021, Calendly was valued at $3 billion, making it a tech unicorn.

What are Super Unicorn Companies?

The startups that exceed the valuation of $10 billion are grouped under the term called Super Unicorn. Super Unicorn Companies are also known as “Decacorn” Companies. The top ten Super Unicorn Companies in 2022, comprise Stripe, Klarna, Epic Games, Instacart, and Databricks.

The Super Unicorn Companies as of 2022 are:

1. InstaCart

Instacart is a delivery startup that helps people get the groceries and essential home products they need in less than an hour. It was founded in 2012, in San Francisco, California with a funding of $2.9B and a valuation of $39B.

2. DataBricks

Databricks is a software platform that helps customers have a central place for their analytics systems, enabling data teams to collaborate with new lines of business. It was founded in 2013 and its valuation is $38B.

3. Grammarly

Grammarly is a company that developed an AI-powered writing assistant to help people improve their writing and communicate better. It was founded in 2009 with a valuation of Valuation: $13B

What are Hectocorn Startups?

Now lets, move on to Hectocorn Companies. For private companies valued over $100 billion, the term “Hectocorn” is used. Familiar names such as Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Oracle, and Cisco are examples of Heactacorn Startups.

Here are a few other examples of Hectocorn Companies:

1. Bytedance

ByteDance is a technology company operating a range of content platforms that inform, educate, entertain and inspire. The Chinese tech company focused on artificial intelligence and created the global social media giant TikTok. It has a valuation of $140billion.

2. SpaceX

SpaceX is an American Spacecraft Launcher and a satellite communications corporation. It was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk. SpaceX recently launched Starlink 4–36 on October 20, 2022. CNBC reported, SpaceX raised $250 million in equity. SpaceX’s valuation has risen to $127 billion during its previous equity.

Conclusion

The term ‘unicorn’ has become a part of the daily news in the business world. In the Indian Startup Ecosystem, No Company is fixed to be categorized under the term Unicorn or Super unicorn.

It entirely depends on the valuation of the companies that categorize them under the terms Unicorn, Super Unicorn, Soonicorn, Minicorn, and so on. Unicorn startups have grown manifold to cater to the needs of their targeted consumers and generate revenues with their products/services in the market.

-Written by Kirti Sood (Intern at NxtDecade)

“A multipotentialite well-versed with a little of everything. Being productive is a new trend. Always ready to chase new opportunities in life. In competition with myself to become a better version of myself. An anime and K drama lover. Passionate about reading fiction and playing chess.”

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