What a Unicorn Knows

How Leading Entrepreneurs Use Lean Principles to Drive Sustainable Growth

By: Matthew E. May, Pablo Dominguez, Nick Mehta - foreword

Narrated by: Lyle Blaker

Why do some young companies become unicorns, while others don't?

It's easy for scale-ups, giddy from early startup success, to get ahead of themselves and stumble. It's even easier to be slowed down by the many forces of resistance working against them: drag, inertia, friction, and waste.

Drawing on a mastery of lean-based methods for achieving maximum effect with minimum means, private equity operators Matthew E. May and Pablo Dominguez provide listeners with a powerful framework of universally applicable principles that enable any company to effectively accelerate its ability to scale and grow.

Called The Unicorn Model and built on five foundational principles, the authors deliver a compelling narrative of stories and experiences in an easy-to-remember mnemonic, S.C.A.L.E.: Strategic speed, Constant experimentation, Accelerated value, Lean process, and Esprit de corps.

Drawn from the authors' successful track record in using S.C.A.L.E. with a wide variety of unicorn-level companies, What a Unicorn Knows offers a necessary guide for rapid but lasting growth.

©2023 Matthew May and Pablo Dominguez (P)2023 Ascent Audio

I worthy listen especially for lean and related processes.

I liked it but I thought his book winning the brain game. it was much better though. they are related and this book has insights beyond that.

Pablo knows what he is talking about.

Lots of theory and frameworks but made very accessible using tons of examples. Which makes the concepts easy to grasp and easy to adopt in your own situation.

Going to be a must read for SaaS folks soon.

A Must Read for Any Scale Up Organization

Pablo and Matt hit the nail on the head on all the challenges and considerations a scale up goes through both in the early days and late days and how leaders can quickly tackle those challenges. The guidance and tools provided make it easy to deploy the suggestions discussed in the book - connecting aspiration with execution. Bought the hardcopy of the book so I can now go back and take more notes! Looking forward to deploying these methodologies in my organization and team!

Top of the 2023 list for me

I try to crunch 1-2 business books a month, this one being my most recent one. It is a great blend of narrative, example, and template/instruction. It is much better than some of the fluffy ones out there, and is especially relevant if you are familiar with lean methodology. I’d be willing to bet this book does well for the long run.