🦄Unicorn Founder Pathways and more...
[Issue #12] In our this week's issue we look at the life pathways of the founders who built unicorns, learn if you are paying premium for your video games, and checkout Apple's employee turnover!⬇️
Welcome to Insight Scoop, if you've been forwarded this post, I invite you to subscribe.
Unicorn Founder Pathways
Source: Endeavor Research
Insights
This chart shows the different paths that 200 unicorn founders took to starting their companies. Each line represents a founder, and the oval nodes represent key experiences they had along the way.
Elite education and prestigious employment are not prerequisites for unicorn founders. A significant portion of unicorn founders did not attend top-tier universities or work for Big Three consulting firms, MAMAA tech companies, or bulge bracket banks.
Extensive work experience is a common trait among unicorn founders. The average unicorn founder has 10 years of work experience before launching their company. Prior experience at startups, scaleups, or other founded companies is prevalent.
Emerging market unicorn founders have distinct skill sets and reach unicorn status faster than their US counterparts. Emerging market founders are more likely to have a background in finance, consulting, business development, or marketing, while US founders are more likely to have product and engineering experience. Emerging market unicorns achieved unicorn status in an average of 5.5 years, compared to 6 years for US unicorns.
Emerging market unicorns are more focused on solving real-world problems at scale than US unicorns, which often follow VC trends. Emerging market unicorns are concentrated in fintech, e-commerce, and logistics/transportation sectors, addressing tangible needs. US unicorns, on the other hand, are more diverse, including companies in emerging sectors like blockchain and cryptocurrency.
Price Premium for Steam Games
Source: Guide Strats
Insights
Swiss gamers pay a hefty premium for their games, shelling out around 64% more than the average global price.
Gamers in Argentina and Turkey enjoy a significant advantage, with the 50 most popular games costing roughly 55% less than the global average when paid for in Argentine Pesos or Turkish Lira. This stark difference likely prompted Steam's decision to switch to USD as the primary currency in these countries.
Americans face the highest markup on Stronghold Crusader 2, paying a staggering 87% more than the global average when using dollars.
Capcom's games are relatively affordable for American gamers, with a markup of just 5.38% over the global average.
Indie games bear the brunt of the price hike in the U.S., costing 48.45% more than the global average, the highest markup among all genres.
Where are Apple employees coming from and going to!
Source: Switch On Business
Insights
Apple has been actively recruiting talent from Intel, a former partner company. Apple previously relied on Intel chips for its desktop and laptop computers, but with the development of its own chips, Apple believes it has gained a competitive edge in chip design and manufacturing.
Additionally, Apple's acquisition of Intel's modem division brought 2,000 former Intel employees into the company, further bolstering its talent pool of experienced chip engineers.
Apple has also been hiring extensively from Google, particularly in the area of mapping technology for its own maps applications.
… and that’s our Insight Scoop for this week!
If you enjoyed our this week’s visualizations, then do forward it to you friends and help us grow this community :)