Sitemaps
How We Secretly Lose Control of Our Startups
Should Kids Follow in Our Founder Footsteps?
The Evolution of Entry Level Workers
Assume Everyone Will Leave in Year One
Stop Listening to Investors
Was Mortgaging My Life Worth it?
What's My Startup Worth in an Acquisition?
When Our Ambition is Our Enemy
Are Startups in a "Silent Recession"?
The 5 Types of Startup Funding
What Is Startup Funding?
Do Founders Deserve Their Profit?
Michelle Glauser on Diversity and Inclusion
The Utter STUPIDITY of "Risking it All"
Committees Are Where Progress Goes to Die
More Money (Really Means) More Problems
Why Most Founders Don't Get Rich
Investors will be Obsolete
Why is a Founder so Hard to Replace?
We Can't Grow by Saying "No"
Do People Really Want Me to Succeed?
Is the Problem the Player or the Coach?
Will Investors Bail Me Out?
The Value of Actually Getting Paid
Why do Founders Suck at Asking for Help?
Wait a Minute before Giving Away Equity
You Only Think You Work Hard
SMALL is the New Big — Embracing Efficiency in the Age of AI
The 9 Best Growth Agencies for Startups
This is BOOTSTRAPPED — 3 Strategies to Build Your Startup Without Funding
Never Share Your Net Worth
A Steady Hand in the Middle of the Storm
Risk it All vs Steady Paycheck
How About a Startup that Just Makes Money?
How to Recruit a Rockstar Advisor
Why Having Zero Experience is a Huge Asset
My Competitor Got Funded — Am I Screwed?
The Hidden Treasure of Failed Startups
If It Makes Money, It Makes Sense
Why do VCs Keep Giving Failed Founders Money?
$10K Per Month isn't Just Revenue — It's Life Support
The Ridiculous Spectrum of Investor Feedback
Startup CEOs Aren't Really CEOs
Series A, B, C, D, and E Funding: How It Works
Best Pitch Decks Ever: The Most Successful Fundraising Pitches You Need to Know
When to Raise Funds
Why Aren't Investors Responding to Me?
Should I Regret Not Raising Capital?
Unemployment Cases — Why I LOOOOOVE To Win Them So Much.
How Much to Pay Yourself
Heat-Seeking Missile: WePay’s Journey to Product-Market Fit — Interview with Rich Aberman, Co-Founder of Wepay
The R&D technique for startups: Rip off & Duplicate
Why Some Startups Win.
Chapter #1: First Steps To Validate Your Business Idea
Product Users, Not Ideas, Will Determine Your Startup’s Fate
Drop Your Free Tier
Your Advisors Are Probably Wrong
Growth Isn't Always Good
How to Shut Down Gracefully
How Does My Startup Get Acquired?
Can Entrepreneurship Be Taught?
How to Pick the Wrong Co-Founder
Staying Small While Going Big
Investors are NOT on Our Side of the Table
Who am I Really Competing Against?
Why Can't Founders Replace Themselves?
Actually, We Have Plenty of Time
Quitting vs Letting Go
How Startups Actually Get Bought
What if I'm Building the Wrong Product?
Are Founders Driven by Fear or Greed?
Why I'm Either Working or Feeling Guilty
Startup Financial Assumptions
Why Every Kid Should be a Startup Founder
We Only Have to be Right Once
If a Startup Sinks, Founders Go Down With it
Founder Success: We Need a Strict Definition of Personal Success
Is Quiet Quitting a Problem at Startup Companies?
Founder Exits are Hard Work and Good Fortune, Not "Good Luck"
Finalizing Startup Projections
All Founders are Beloved In Good Times
Our Startup Culture of Entitlement
The Bullshit Case for Raising Capital
How do We Manage Our Founder Flaws?
What If my plan for retirement is "never retire"?
Startup Failure is just One Chapter in Founder Life
6 Similarities between Startup Founders and Pro Athletes
All Founders Make Bad Decisions — and That's OK
Startup Board Negotiations: How do I tell the board I need a new deal?
Founder Sacrifice — At What Point Have I Gone Too Far?
Youth Entrepreneurship: Can Middle Schoolers be Founders?
Living the Founder Legend Isn't so Fun
Why Do VC Funded Startups Love "Fake Growth?"
How Should I Share My Wealth with Family?
How Many Deaths Can a Startup Survive?
This is Probably Your Last Success
Why Do We Still Have Full-Time Employees?
The Case Against Full Transparency
Should I Feel Guilty for Failing?
Always Take Money off the Table

Seeking Rare Unicorns: 7 Sparkle Traits To Look For When Choosing Leaders In Your Startup

Carmen Sample

Seeking Rare Unicorns: 7 Sparkle Traits To Look For When Choosing Leaders In Your Startup

Working as a leader for a start-up is not for the weak. It requires a “rare unicorn” type of leader to see it through to stable profitability. The success of a business is how many unicorns you have on your team and how well they sparkle. What traits do I look for when seeking out the most sparkly unicorns of them all?

Be A Unicorn

Trait #1: They’re a Hustler

Hustling unicorns run long and fast, they work with a sense of urgency, and they do it with a smile. They have an extra comb in their pocket and come prepared with water and snacks for the ride. Unicorns are prepared, work hard and look GOOD doing it. 🙂 There is no complaining of long weeks or long hours….in fact, they enjoy the hustle.

Sparkle Indicator: Horses act “put out” by a workload. Unicorns will ask for more work and add a sparkle logo to the letterhead.

Trait #2: They Have a Glitter Trail

You can tell when a Unicorn has touched a process because it is better off as a result.

Sparkle Indicator: Horses will leave a smelly path of poo that everyone spends the next 6 months cleaning up while cursing their name. Unicorns will leave a trail of glitter poo that is pretty to look at as you walk by and wave at the well-executed process.

Trait #3 : They Have a “Days-On” Mentality

Unicorns don’t ask about or refer to “my day off”. They organize their time so that they work when it is needed and they take time off when they need to. The lines between work and play are blurred….because these two things are often the same to unicorns. There is work to be done and unicorns enjoy the work.

Sparkle Indicator: Horses act angry to work on the weekend. Unicorns will show up at 7am in high heels on a Saturday and ask if you need them earlier.

Trait #4: They Take Full Ownership

Rare unicorns NEVER throw their hands in the air. EVER. They roll up their sleeves and they dive in and they see it through. This doesn’t mean there aren’t moments of fear and stress, but they work through the stress with 100% engagement. Everything they see is their problem to fix — they dive in and fix away.

Sparkle Indicator: Horses will quietly go to the other watering bin when they see the first is broken. The Unicorn will go to the broken hole and google the problem. They will then go and buy the tools and fix it and add some extra glitter to the water just to improve the situation. They will then go and tell the horses how to do it themselves next time. After full problem-solving, they will take a drink of glittery water for themselves, satisfied with a job done well.

Trait #5: They See The World Through A Rainbow Lens

These unicorns are invested in the long-term outcome. They see the potential and they keep their eye on the sparkly rainbow prize and work to see it through.

Sparkle Indicator: Horses see a problem and start to groan. They roll their eyes and cross their arms and pull away from the team. Unicorns see a problem and lean in with their long glittery mane and ask questions to better understand how to make things right, taking notes on their glittery notepad.

Trait #6: They’re a Sparkly Systems-Builder

These unicorns want to build systems for other unicorns….why? Because they know they are working smarter and that their future workload depends on how well current systems are developed.

Sparkle Indicator: Horses will see a team of people working incorrectly and they will make an adjustment to get them through the week. Unicorns will make the adjustment, communicate to everyone else how to make the adjustments in their own teams, create a protocol for the adjustment, have everyone sign the protocol, talk about the protocol at their Unicorn gatherings and monitor every week thereafter to make sure the protocol is being implemented.

Trait #7: They’re Bling-Motivated

Unicorns WANT to make money and turn a profit. Unicorns are as excited as the owner to see all of the hard work result in a bottom line difference. Unicorns care about the company as much as their personal job because they realize you can’t have one without the other!

Sparkle Indicator: Horses will shrug their shoulders when asked about their sales reports. Unicorns will push those horses aside and build new revenue streams to be able to give themselves and all the horses a paycheck….with a glitter stamp on the back.

Advice to Owners of Start-ups: Seek out the rare unicorn leaders and then treat them as if you depend on them — because you do. They are your best friends and best allies and best ambassadors for your making your business sparkle with all of the Unicorn glitter they leave in their paths.

Find this article helpful?

This is just a small sample! Register to unlock our in-depth courses, hundreds of video courses, and a library of playbooks and articles to grow your startup fast. Let us Let us show you!

Submission confirms agreement to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

Already a member? Login

No comments yet.

Register to join the discussion.

Already a member? Login

Create Free Account