Tope Awotona / CEO / Calendly Bernadette Nixon / CEO / Algolia Steve Sloan / CEO / Contentful Casey Renner / Partner / OpenView Reaching unicorn status — a valuation more than $1 billion — is a goal for many startups. For several years, private investors have been accused of propping up unprofitable unicorns, because they believed betting on tomorrow out-performed betting on today. Some investors prioritized growth at all costs and ignored the quality of that growth. Today, a new crop of investors and founders value profitability and financial sustainability. This panel will explore these fundamental changes and how high-growth companies can strive for profitability — while growing responsibly — using modern methods such as product-led growth.

1. Tope Awotona
CEO
Calendly
@TopeAwotona
Bernadette Nixon
CEO
Algolia
@bvnixon
Steve Sloan
CEO
Contentful
Casey Renner
Partner
OpenView
@CaseyLinnRenner
Demystifying the Unicorn Buzz

2. What defines a Unicorn?

3. The Path to Unicorn Status

4. Key Takeaways

5. Tope
• Focus on solving a meaningful problem at scale,
and unicorn status will follow
• PLG is about reducing time and effort to value

6. Bernadette
• Pick your north start metrics
and be maniacal about them
• Hire for stage-specific experience

7. Steve
• Understand your unit economics and start to think of
customer segments as early as possible
• Don’t be afraid if your growth looks different. Be
bold in the path that’s right for you

8. THANK YOU!