To cover all terms, find the remaining ones here
Unicorn
Companies founded since 1990 that reached USD $1 billion valuation. Also includes companies that have since dropped below the $1B mark after going public.
Sometimes represented as EUR 800M, which is a rounded version of USD 1B.
Future unicorn
Fast-growing companies with valuations between USD $250M-$1B
Sometimes represented as EUR 200-800M, which is a rounded version of USD 250-1B.
Some queries, like the ones present in European Startups, are tailored towards more ‘recent’ future unicorns. In fact, the ‘last funding year minimum’ filter is also applied on top of the valuation range. They also exclude acquired and public owned companies.
Founder ranking
We have created an algorithm to determine the propensity for success of startup and scaleup founders. You can apply these filters in the Advanced filters section of the Startups & scaleups tab or the New startups tab.
- Exceptional founders and Strong founders have a proven track record for success - they may have founded another successful startup, held a high position and/or have a strong educational background.
- Promising founders often have a strong educational background as well as work experience at a notable company.
Funding rounds
Excludes Grant rounds and rounds for companies with an "outside tech" model
Exit
An exit occurs when an investor decides to liquidate their stake in a company. In Dealroom, Exits are a subset of all transactions, grouped in a specific Exits tab. Buyouts, M&A, secondary rounds, and IPOs are treated as exits.
Ecosystem value
Sum of the valuations of all startups in the ecosystem. Using estimated valuations based on most recent VC rounds, public markets and publically disclosed valuations.
Zebra
“These are companies that, instead of seeking to blitz-scale their way to market dominance, fuelled by multiple venture capital fundraising rounds, prioritise profitability. Zebras also tend to be focused on equitable ownership and building sustainable businesses, and they seek to create a positive social impact, for example by providing solutions for underserved markets or prioritising employee happiness” (Source).
Snowball effect/ Startup Mafia/ Founder Factories
Early tech ecosystem success not only creates value and belief for a community but breeds a generation of operators who know how to start and scale successful businesses, who have the right network and at times the exit capital to start their next venture. It starts a snowball effect of success. Most famously in the US, the founder and first-hire alumni of the "PayPal Mafia" went on to found Tesla, LinkedIn, Palantir, SpaceX, Square, Slide, Kiva, YouTube, Yelp, and Yammer. Others would go on to invest in countless West Coast success stories, including PayPal founder Peter Thiel, who invested in Facebook when it still had a 'the'. These are the European Startup Mafias. The training grounds that became the founder factories fuelling the European startup ecosystem. Check this landscape for some examples.
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