Forbes Says 166 of 275 Startup Alumni Became Unicorns, Citing Founder-Led Execution
Updated
Updated · Forbes · Jul 28
Forbes Says 166 of 275 Startup Alumni Became Unicorns, Citing Founder-Led Execution
1 articles · Updated · Forbes · Jul 28
Summary
166 of 275 companies named to Forbes' Next Billion-Dollar Startups list since 2015 later became unicorns, and 30 went public, according to a new analysis of traits behind durable outperformance.
Forbes said the strongest alumni were not simply the fastest-growing or best-funded; they built indispensable products, expanded into larger markets over time and kept winning repeat backing from top investors.
Founder continuity emerged as the clearest pattern, with examples including DoorDash's rise to more than $80 billion, Flexport's turnaround after Ryan Petersen returned as CEO, and Figma's scaling to about 690,000 paid customers.
Customer embedment and sustained investor conviction also stood out: ServiceTitan now handles more than $80 billion in annual transactions, Harvey serves 1,500 organizations, and Anduril's latest round valued it at $61 billion.
The findings come as AI speeds company formation and revenue growth, but Forbes argues the core predictors of lasting startup success have changed little.