Will It Be a Unicorn or a Zebra? What the Characteristics of Founders Reveal About Their Ambitions

Abstract

Entrepreneurship, and thus the founding of new and innovative companies, plays a decisive role in developing an economy and society. The key drivers are the founders themselves, who set up these new companies and the goals and ambitions they pursue. These ambitions are directly influenced by the personal traits and characteristics of these founders, and these subsequently determine the development of their companies. Will they become a million-dollar Unicorn or a sustainable Zebra in the context of a startup classification? In this article, we explore this question and clarify which characteristics of founders affect their ambitions and how these correspond to a classification of certain startup types. Based on three consecutive surveys (n = 1,985 startups), this study investigates the impact of (1) gender and (2) culture as personality-related aspects, and (3) risk propensity as a behavior-related aspect on (4) startup types (differentiated in entrepreneurial ambitions). For research, the founding and development of startups and the associated focus on entrepreneurial typology have theoretical and practical implications.