- By Sooraj Shah
- Technology of Business reporter
The unicorn tag adds extra pressure to tech bosses says Vishal Marria
Last year only six UK companies became a unicorn, the title handed out to private start-up firms that are valued at more than a billion dollars.
Achieving the $1bn (£790m) valuation brings prestige and status to a start-up firm, but does have its downside.
Vishal Marria is the founder of Quantexa, one of those British firms to make the billion dollar mark in the UK in 2023.
The London-based tech company, which uses AI to interpret data and help financial firms manage risk, completed a funding round in April, taking the company’s valuation up to £1.42bn.
Mr Marria likens the pressure of running a unicorn company to a football player moving club for a record-breaking fee.
“If I allowed the pressure of valuations to get to me, I wouldn’t be able to perform as CEO of this business, just as a footballer wouldn’t be able to perform if they let a price tag get to their head,” he says.
For better or worse, fewer UK tech bosses are experiencing that…
