Is your startup a Zebra, Sloth or a Unicorn?

The animal kingdom is full of different animals who all have their own quirks – just like businesses. We love all kinds of startups here in Tehnopol Startup Incubator. Which startup animal do you identify as? As long as you have the thrive and passion we will give everything we’ve got to help You succeed! 

Are you a Zebra? This time around we have largely focused on spreading the news about Zebra companies. You can describe Zebra start-ups as both black and white – they are profitable and improve society. Meaning that in addition to profit goals they keep in mind sustainability aspects, like climate change or human rights etc. “Zebras are not charities that have no interest in profit. Rather the opposite, zebra companies try to design a business model that would be profitable right from the early stages of the company. In consequence, zebras grow more slowly than unicorns, but more stably. Zebras are long-distance runners, not sprinters,” describes Kadri Tammai, Startup Incubator Manager.

Didn’t quite click? Maybe you are not all about improving society in the most literal sense. Is your strategy to not grow as rapidly as possible? To follow a lower-risk path? In that case you might be a Camel. Camels can survive without sustenance for a long time, they are resilient and highly adaptive to extreme situations – in your case meaning hard economic times. A great trait to have in this economy, right. Source.

Perhaps you’d like to identify your startup as a Gazelle? Gazelle company might be one of the more familiar sounding animals on this list. Gazelle companies are often found in the technology industry, which is what we are all about here in Tehnopol! Gazelles are known for bringing jobs to the market. They are also described as young fast-growing enterprise with base revenues of at least $100,000 and four years of sustained revenue growth. Usually it means that you are at the smaller end of the business scale, having started from a low base. Source.

The glorious Unicorn! I’m guessing we’ve all dreamt about being the magical Unicorn. Oh to be an elusive horse-like creature with magical powers and building a company worth $1B. If you know anything about the startup world, you probably don’t need to be introduced to that concept. If only that while Zebra companies rise by observing and following the trends in the market, Unicorn companies attempt to disrupt the general market by introducing something completely new and innovative like Uber. Source.

But maybe! Just maybe you are a Sloth startup. You hang upside down from the branches of trees, just chilling and enjoying life, not quite sure how you even got here. If that really is the case and you feel like a sloth with your startup then maybe slowly let go of the branch and we will catch you. Together we can figure out a better and more resultful form of business for you! No sources here. Just trying to help.

Some days you might wake up as a sloth and go bed dreaming about Zebras and that’s okay. It doesn’t really matter what kind of animal you identify as – what’s important is that you have an early-stage technology startup, a great team and you have already progressed from an idea level to an MVP or a prototype. Together we will make anything happen!

No ambition is too high! Without a shadow of a doubt.

You still have a hot minute to apply to be a part of Tehnopol Startup Incubator’s next patch of startups and find out what your true potential holds! 

See more HERE!