First of all, a unicorn club is a list of companies who have a valuation of over $1 billion. These companies are not age-old companies. They are very young and have surmounted the barriers of growth, becoming one of the fastest growing businesses in the list. They are now bonafide billion dollar companies.
Top 7 start-ups to become a billion-dollar company:
1. Udaan
According to the Indian media reports, the B2B start-up has now become the fastest growing businesses in the country and is the fastest to reach a valuation of $1 billion. The company was started by three former members of Flipkart executives, in 2016. The transition has now been paid off when the company recently raised a funding of $225 million forms DST Global and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
2. Lenskart
Lenskart is India’s fastest growing eyewear business, which was started in 2010 with no funds. But now it has become one of the most successful companies to reserve a place in the unicorn club. The company does retail and e-tail of eyewear. It received funding from SoftBank Vision fund of $350 million, and now has a valuation of over $1 billion.
3. Big Basket
Big Basket is a grocery e-tailer, which has become India’s largest online food and grocery store. In early 2019, Big Basket raised funds from Mirae Asset Global Investments, worth $150 million. And just in a span of a few months, it has a value of $1.2 billion now.
4. Dream 11
By far the only gaming based start-up to become a part of the unicorn club. It is a fantasy sports platform, which allows users to play fantasy sports like cricket, football, hockey, kabaddi, and basketball. It raised funding from Steadview Capital in the early phase of 2019, and now it has a valuation of a billion dollar.
5. Oyo
The Oyo Rooms was founded by Ritesh Agarwal, in 2014, as an online hotel room booking services. It has been reckoned as the most successful business of the era, with a valuation of close to $5 billion, after it got a funding of $800 million from SoftBank, in 2018. It boasts a host of big investors like Grab, Sequoia Capital Venture Nursery, Hero Enterprise, SoftBank Vision Fund, and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
6. Swiggy
The most successful online food delivery app, which has captured the market all over India. The company managed to raise a billion dollar investment from a host of investors, one of which is Tencent. Today the company is valued at $3.3 billion and is a proud member of the unicorn club.
7. Byju’s
One with the education, this platform provides students with distinct learning, spread over their entire school life. The company received fresh funding of $40 million by South Africa’s Nasper Ventures, along with General Atlantic, Sequoia Capital, Sofina, Verlinvest, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and IFC. Currently, the company stands tall with a valuation of $3.6 billion, and it also has an aggressive plan to expand overseas.
