An exponential tech trend hiding in plain sight: Unicorn Ecosystems

Yesterday Oxfam released a report sharing how the wealth of the world’s 10 richest men had doubled in a year. Meanwhile, 99% of the world’s population is worse off because of the pandemic.

But is there an alternative to this unicorn platform model where owners siphon most of the economies’ value? Yes, it’s called Unicorn Ecosystems.

What are Unicorn Ecosystems?

Unicorn Ecosystems are open-source and community-driven organizations that generate more value than they extract by enabling others to build on their ideas.

• Linux enables 99% of internet servers and over $50bn in business.
• WordPress is used by 43% of internet websites, and its company is worth $7bn while enabling its users to create $140bn in revenue annually.
• RepRap has enabled billion-dollar 3D Printing companies and tens of billions in revenues.
• RISC-V is an open chip architecture ecosystem that’s doubling every year and is expected to go from $50 million in 2018 to $1bn in 2024.

Why are they so hard to identify, and why is it important to tell their stories?

The biggest obstacle for founders to consider running unicorn ecosystems is that they don’t know they can. The media and academia don’t promote them because it’s hard to find iconic examples.

- The tech boom had Microsoft, Apple, Amazon or Facebook

- The sharing economy had Airbnb and Uber.

Unicorn Ecosystems are hard to notice because they are faceless and decentralized networks with no public face to do their PR.

We focus on dominant Tech Unicorns that dominate everything, concentrate power, and multiply inequalities. What if instead we promoted and rewarded those creating Unicorn Ecosystems that win by lifting others and enabling them to create more value than they take?

This post was created with Typeshare