Building the Right Kind of Unicorn

For the past decade, the hunt for unicorns — privately owned startups valued at $1 billion or more — has been an obsession for many investors and founders and the media. Recently, unicorns have come under fire for being high-risk and offering potentially little in return. We've learned through the years that high valuations can be meaningless; just because a founder has convinced investors to part with their cash, doesn't mean they can run a successful and profitable company.

So how do you create the right kind of unicorn? What does it take to build a scalable, successful business — even during an economic crisis?

Here are five key strategies for making your startup a success.

1. Help employees see the company as their own

Providing employees with an opportunity to share directly in the company's success through stock options gives them pride of ownership. It encourages employees to feel motivated and productive because they actually have a vested interest. The more that people think of the company as theirs, the more they do what is right for it. When everyone has skin in the game, you can create a culture based on the collective good and eliminate individual interests and agendas that take away from overall company health.