Billion Dollar Unicorns: Capital-Efficient StartApp Is A Prospect

According to a recent market research study by the University of Alabama, over 1 billion smartphones are expected to be sold in 2015. Back in 2013, Google’s Android had surpassed 50 billion app downloads and by the year 2014, Apple had recorded 75 billion downloads. These numbers are expected to grow rapidly in the coming years. By 2017, over 268 billion mobile app downloads would be recorded, translating to nearly $77 billion in revenues.

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Billion Dollar Unicorn: Taboola Faces New Competition From Google

The market may be waiting for online content discovery platform and Billion Dollar Unicorn Club member Taboola to go public. But Taboola’s management has no plans to go public soon. Analysts project the content recommendation market to grow from $700 million in 2014 to $3.4 billion by the year 2018. Here is how Taboola is planning to capitalize on that growth.

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Billion Dollar Unicorns: Splunk is Now Targeting the SMB Segment

A 2014 IDC report estimates the Big Data and Analytics market to grow to $125 billion globally during 2015. Growth in applications that incorporate advanced and predictive analytics, including machine learning, is expected to accelerate during the year. These apps are estimated to grow 65% faster than apps without predictive functionality. Billion Dollar Unicorn player Splunk was set up in 2003 to deliver in this market.

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From E-Commerce to Web 3.0: Amazon Threatens Etsy

In our continued coverage of e-commerce entrepreneurs and their broadening horizons of online user experiences, this post focuses on Etsy’s post-IPO journey.

Earlier I spoke about how the VC funding frenzy has resulted in astronomical valuations for companies making it difficult for them to maintain these valuations if and when they go public. Niche e-commerce player and Billion Dollar Unicorn club member Etsy (NASDAQ: ETSY) is one such player who has seen valuations fluctuate since they went public.

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Billion Dollar Unicorns: Luxury Retailer Moda Operandi on the Club’s Runway

According to a Bain and Company research report, the global luxury market was estimated to grow 5% in 2014 to €223 billion (~$234.5 billion). Within the market, luxury accessories accounted for 29% of the market and grew 4% over the year. Bain estimates that across all personal luxury categories, the retail channel grew and accounted for 30% of the market. Billion Dollar Unicorn club prospect Moda Operandi is a leading player in this segment.

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Billion Dollar Unicorns: Funding Circle is UK’s Latest Entry to the Club

According to market reports, the peer-to-peer lending platform market is estimated to be worth $350 billion by the year 2025. Already, there are several Billion Dollar Unicorn club members operating in the space. One such member is UK-based, US-focused Funding Circle.

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Billion Dollar Unicorns: Twilio is Revolutionizing Telecommunications

According to a MarketsandMarkets report, the global Unified Communication as a Service market is projected to grow 12% annually from $13.1 billion in 2014 to $23.3 billion by the year 2019. San Francisco-based Twilio is a leading player in the market which is helping other customer service providers to reap the benefits of Communication-as-a-Service. Earlier this month, Twilio joined the ranks of the Billion Dollar Unicorn club. >>>

Billion Dollar Unicorns: New Relic Getting Ready to Battle with Microsoft

Earlier this month, Microsoft announced the release of Application Insights, a solution to help organizations monitor and track their application performance. The move marks Microsoft’s entry into the application performance monitoring (APM) market. Among its competitors, Microsoft will also have to count Billion Dollar Unicorn club member New Relic.

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Billion Dollar Unicorns: Zendesk Targets the Live Chat Market

According to a RnRMarketResearch report, the global customer experience management market is estimated to grow 17% annually over the period 2014 through 2019 to be worth $8.39 billion in 2019. The industry was estimated to be worth $3.77 billion in 2014. Billion Dollar Unicorn club member Zendesk is a leading player in the industry.

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Billion Dollar Unicorns: InMobi Wants to IPO in India

According to an eMarketer report, the global advertising market is projected to grow 6% this year to $592.4 billion. eMarketer estimates mobile advertising to account for $64.3 billion of this spend, recording a 60% growth over the year. Total mobile advertising is estimated to grow to $158.55 billion by the year 2018 and will account for 22.3% of the total advertising spend that year. Billion Dollar Unicorn club member InMobi is helping brands realize the potential of mobile advertising.

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