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Riding the Unicorn
The Startup Guide You'll Want to Read
'Perfect fuel for a hungry, hungry founder.' — Nina Juhl, UNSW Founders 'Fun, insightful and beautifully written, Riding the Unicorn is brimming with optimism about Australia’s dynamic startup landscape. Packed with stories and lessons from Australia’s most well-known startups (and many others), this book is a must-read for Aussie founders, business leaders and capital allocators.' — Tom O’Neill, Co-founder of Vale 'From children’s books to 80s music to biblical character analogies, this book was informative and relatable. If you want to know more about the world of entrepreneurship while reminiscing past trends, this book is for you.' — Kai Man Yuen, Organisational & Program Lead, INCUBATE
'Like its title, Riding the Unicorn is a rare breed. It’s a time-travelling journey through startup history, from solving problems no-one asked to be solved, to why we should be obsessing over customers who know more than we do. This book is a masterclass in getting out of your own way, especially if you are chasing the unicorn, and it leaves you wondering, are the real unicorns the companies and their celebrated success or the quirky geniuses behind them?' — Jodie Siggers, Transformer Program Manager, Bond University
Wenee Yap (Author), Thomas Derricott (Author)
9781394367689, Wiley
Paperback / softback, published 27 November 2025
336 pages
22.6 x 15.2 x 2.8 cm, 0.386 kg
The Legends are True. The Unicorn is out there. Think unicorns — those billion-dollar startups as rare as their mythical namesakes — are just Silicon Valley fairytales? Think again. After interviewing some of Australia and New Zealand's innovation rockstars, Wenee Yap and Thomas Derricott have cracked the code on what makes a startup a unicorn. Riding the Unicorn skips the dry business theory and instead gives you battle-tested strategies from startup legends, wrapped up in stories that'll keep you hooked from page one. You'll get the unvarnished truth about what it really takes to launch, scale and — if you're lucky — sell your way to startup glory. You'll learn how to build your own unicorn, systematically moving through six stages that guide you from idea to product development to company growth to exit. You'll also find: Whether you're in tech, education, creative industries or anywhere in between, Riding the Unicorn isn't just a book; it's your guide for taming your next billion-dollar idea. Time to saddle up and start your journey from side hustle to success story.
About the authors Introduction 1 How to make mistakes (because you will) 1 2 What’s the problem? 23 3 What to do before you launch 41 4 Let your network build your startup 61 5 Find your MVP 83 6 How to secure funding 101 7 How to find (and keep) the right people 129 8 Be honest: are you running a startup, a side hustle or a regular business? 143 9 Find your product–market fit 169 10 Get profitable: riding the mini-unicorn 185 11 Become a problem-solver-in-chief 199 12 What’s your ‘why’? 221 13 How to avoid the growth ceiling 233 14 Grow with your business 251 15 How to exit your business (or stay with it forever) 275 Conclusion 289 Glossary of terms you’re too embarrassed to ask about 291 Acknowledgements 301 Bibliography 307
Subject Areas: Business & management [KJ]
