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The Smart Investor’s Secret: Stop Chasing Unicorns 🦄

Proven strategies for finding and attracting the right lead investor to kickstart your funding round.

Author

Anmol Goel
March 11, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 5min4 minutes

Hello Innovators,

Welcome to this edition of the GACS Newsletter! Most investors dream of landing that one big startup, the next Stripe, OpenAI, or SpaceX. They imagine getting in early, holding on, and watching their investment skyrocket to a billion-dollar valuation.

But here’s the problem: unicorns are rare. Betting everything on finding “the next big thing” is like playing the lottery. It’s exciting, but it’s not a strategy.

The investors who actually make money? They build portfolios like a Michelin-starred menu diverse, balanced, and designed to deliver strong returns, no matter how the market shifts.

Let’s break down why diversification is the secret weapon of top investors and how you can apply it to your own strategy.

The Unicorn Trap: Why Betting on One Big Winner Doesn’t Work

Think of private market investing like a treasure hunt. You get a map, you follow the clues, and you dig only to find an empty chest. That’s what happens when you put all your money into chasing unicorns.

  • In 2024, only 77 companies globally reached unicorn status. That’s a sharp drop from 202 in 2021. The odds of picking the right one? Slim. And even if you do, there’s no guarantee it will maintain its value.

Instead of focusing on one high-risk bet, successful investors spread their capital across multiple companies, industries, and stages of growth.

👉 Lesson: A unicorn should be a bonus, not the foundation of your investment strategy.

The Power of Diversification: Build a Portfolio That Lasts

Smart investors don’t put all their eggs in one basket. They diversify across:

✅ Sectors – Balancing investments in AI, clean energy, consumer tech, and logistics prevents overexposure to market trends.

✅ Stages – A mix of early-stage moonshots, growth-stage companies, and stable late-stage businesses ensures steady returns.

✅ Geographies – When one market struggles, others can thrive. A global approach hedges against regional downturns.

Think of your portfolio like a balanced meal: a mix of proteins, carbs, and veggies. You wouldn’t eat just one food forever, right? The same logic applies to investing.

Diversifying by Stage: The Pub Crawl Approach

  1. Imagine your investments as a night out:

     Early-stage startups: scrappy, high-energy dive bars. Some will be incredible, some will flop, and the experience is unpredictable.

     Growth-stage companies: trendy cocktail lounges. These businesses have momentum and a track record, making them lower-risk.

     Late-stage powerhouses: high-end rooftop bars. Expensive but stable, offering solid returns with less volatility.

    Would you spend your entire night in just one type of place? No. The same goes for your portfolio. A mix of early, growth, and late-stage investments ensures both excitement and reliability.

How This Works in Real Life

At GACS, we’ve deployed over $20M into 30+ companies over the past 18 months. Our strategy follows a three-tiered approach:

 Moonshots: high-risk, high-reward bets on frontier tech like AI, quantum computing, and biotech.
 Wave Riders: growth-stage companies with strong momentum in established industries.
 Staple Powerhouses: Late-stage companies with clear paths to IPOs or acquisitions.

The result? A 2.39x portfolio valuation in just 18 months.

👉 Lesson: A structured approach beats gut-feeling investments every time.

“The secret to long-term success isn’t luck—it’s discipline. A well-diversified portfolio outperforms in the long run.”

The private markets are more accessible than ever, but that also means more risk. Instead of chasing the next unicorn, focus on building a portfolio that’s designed to last.

Think like a Michelin-star chef: curate your investments carefully, balance risk and reward, and always keep an eye on the long-term picture. A single unicorn won’t make you rich. A well-built portfolio will.

We hope you found these tips helpful! For more insights and detailed guides, visit our GACS Blog, and stay tuned for more insights and tips from the startup world in our upcoming newsletters!

Best regards,

The GACS Team