How To Spot A Unicorn Team

I have multiple conversations with early-stage founders each week. 

They usually pitch their big idea and their talented team to me.

Most teams have impressive founders with advanced degrees and great work histories. If I were hiring for a technical leadership position, many of these founders would make the short list of candidates.

However, most are making the mistake I did in a few of my previous companies. These include:

1. Founding with all builder strengths

2. Starting sales with online marketing

3. Raising money to pay team members

The communicator, strategist, and closer strengths are usually missing from these teams as you need all four elements to outgrow your peers: 

1. Communicator

2. Builder

3. Strategist

4. Closer

Since your probability of success is nearly 100% based on the founding team, it is critical to have founders who can close, effectively strategize, and communicate the company's vision. However, it is rare to see.

The key indicator of the unicorn team is their ability to depict a believable account from the future. They do not say things like, "If we have money, then we can solve this problem." Instead, they solve problems with whatever they have and view funds as the fuel to accelerate their vision.

Talking to a unicorn team feels different. They speak in absolutes as if their version of the future will happen regardless of circumstances.

For example, ask a unicorn team, "If you fail to raise another penny, how will you solve this problem?" Their response is something like, "We will raise the money." They have no doubt about what they can do.