How Does L10N Help Unicorns Grow?

Most startups will never come close to becoming unicorns. Although more companies than ever reached unicorn status in 2021, the overall percentage is still tiny. So what kinds of companies can make it through multiple grueling rounds of funding and come out with a $1B valuation? And, more importantly, what can we learn from these companies?

While many assume that unicorns succeed due to their profitability, that’s almost never true. On the contrary, many unicorns are actually losing money. That’s because valuation is based on the potential investors see in a company rather than its current performance. They understand that newer companies might operate at a loss to gain market share and that their real profit opportunity comes from a good exit.

Rather than being the most profitable startups, unicorns are the ones investors think will make them the biggest profit—the ones with the potential to achieve a buy-out or a successful IPO. While no traits guarantee that a startup will be successful, investors look for global readiness and a digital-first mentality as critical indicators of growth potential. Companies that recognize the world’s increasing connectivity and have the prowess to capitalize on it will come out on top.

How Digital Drives Growth

If mastering the digital space was necessary a few years ago, it’s imperative in the (post) pandemic world, where audiences have come to expect digital offerings that meet or exceed their brick and mortar or face-to-face counterparts. That’s where the Digital First philosophy comes in.

Digital First doesn’t mean having an online presence or mastering digital marketing, though both are important. In fact, it doesn’t refer to a single strategy at all. Instead, Digital First is a way of viewing your company and your audience as players in an evolving digital world.  How can your company use digital to reach and serve audiences with different needs? At the same time, how can digital support your internal team and scaffold future growth? These sorts of questions are central to achieving a future-proof digital presence.

A Digital First leadership team recognizes the role that technology plays at each stage in the customer journey. It emphasizes flexibility, innovation, and creativity in the use of technology to seize opportunities. And it tailors its use of digital media to different audiences. 

Companies that embrace digital integration have the agility to adapt both their messaging and their product offerings to changing markets. That’s the kind of leadership that can turn a concept into a $1B startup. 

Global Readiness & Growth Potential

A Digital First strategy gives your company the tools to address nearly any challenge. What’s more difficult is knowing what needs are keeping your customers up at night, and what their ideal solutions look like. That’s why Digital First must be practiced with a global dimension in mind.

Global readiness requires deep reflection on how different end-users expect to interact with your product and brand. A truly global-ready brand doesn’t simply translate content, it translates experiences, using different media assets to convey the same brand values. In doing so, it builds authentic relationships with users in different markets. More surface-level localization may cost less in the short term, but it compromises the connection you need to build a loyal user base abroad.

The most significant hurdle entrepreneurs face after proving a viable product is scaling their business globally. Incorporating global readiness into your Digital First strategy maximizes potential market share and proves to investors that you can reach diverse audiences.

Look no further than the emergence of International User-Experience which has most designers fully immersed in creating globally relevant content, and in personalization.