What Mid-Market Leaders Can Learn from the World’s Most Successful Unicorns
By Ted Bonel | Strategy & ExecutionAdvisors
Most business leaders assume unicorn companies—those rare businesses valued at over $1 billion—succeed because they have brilliant technology, massive funding, or extraordinary talent.
According to Matthew E. May inWhat a Unicorn Knows,that assumption is largely wrong.
The real differentiator isn’t technology.
It isn’t capital.
And it isn’t even innovation.
The most successful high-growth companies have mastered something far more fundamental.
They know what their customers are trying to achieve better than anyone else.
This insight sounds simple, yet it has profound implications for every mid-market business.
Whether you run a transport company, professional services firm, manufacturer, wholesaler, healthcare provider, or technology company, the same principle applies.
The businesses that grow fastest are those that understand customer outcomes more deeply than their competitors.
The Problem with Most Business Strategies
Many strategic planning sessions focus on:
- Products
- Services
- Features
- Internal capabilities
- Competitors
Yet customers rarely wake up wanting your product.
They wake up wanting an outcome.
As Harvard professor Theodore Levitt famously observed: “People don’t want a quarter-inch drill. They want a quarter-inch hole.”
He argues that customers “hire” products and services to help them make progress in their lives or businesses.When leaders understand that progress better than anyone else, they unlock extraordinary growth opportunities.
From Customer Satisfaction to Customer Success
Many businesses measure customer satisfaction.
Few measure customer success.
There is a significant difference.
Customer satisfaction asks: “Did we deliver what we promised?”
Customer success asks: “Did we help the customer achieve what they were trying to accomplish?”
Consider the difference.
A transport company doesn’t simply move freight.
It helps customers maintain supply chain reliability.
A wealth management firm doesn’t manage investments.
It helps clients achieve financial confidence.
A software company doesn’t sell software.
It helps customers improve performance, productivity, or profitability.
The shift may seem subtle, but it changes everything.
The Four Questions Every Leadership Team Should Ask
One of the most valuable lessons from What a Unicorn Knows is that leaders need to become obsessed with customer progress.
Ask your leadership team:
1. What job is our customer trying to get done?
Not what they buy.
What are they trying to achieve?
2. What obstacles stand in their way?
Where do they experience frustration, delays, complexity, uncertainty, or risk?
3. What would make success easier?
How can you reduce effort, cost, stress, or time?
4. What out comes matter most?
What metrics define success from the customer’s perspective?
The answers often reveal growth opportunities competitors never see.
Why Most Companies Miss the Opportunity
Many organisations become trapped by internal thinking. They focus on:
- Their products
- Their departments
- Their processes
- Their KPIs
Meanwhile customers are focused on:
- Their problems
- Their goals
- Their frustrations
- Their outcomes
The gap between these two perspectives is often where growth stalls.
I’ve seen many mid-market companies invest heavily in improving internal systems while overlooking fundamental customer frustrations that would unlock far greater growth.
The most successful businesses continually bridge that gap.
The Unicorn Growth Formula
Matthew May identifies a pattern among exceptional growth companies.
They consistently do three things well:
1. Deep Customer Understanding
They spend significant time understanding customers at a level competitors never reach.
2. Outcome-Focused Innovation
They innovate around customer success rather than product features.
3. Relentless Learning
They continuously test assumptions and adapt based on customer feedback.
This creates a powerful flywheel:
Better Understanding → Better Solutions → Better Outcomes → Greater Loyalty → Faster Growth
Many companies attempt to shortcut this process through marketing. The unicorns build it into their DNA.
What This Means for Mid-Market Companies
You don’t need venture capital.
You don’t need artificial intelligence.
You don’t need a billion-dollar valuation.
But you do need a deeper understanding of your customers than your competitors possess.
Ask yourself:
- What does success look like for our customers?
- What prevents them from achieving it?
- What frustrations do they tolerate today?
- What assumptions are we making about their needs?
- What would delight them?
The answers often uncover the next stage of growth.
A Practical Exercise for Your Next Strategy Session
Gather your leadership team and answer these questions:
Customer Success Workshop:
- What progress are customers trying to make?
- What are their biggest frustrations?
- What outcomes matter most?
- What assumptions are we making?
- What would make their lives easier?
- Where are we creating unnecessary friction?
- What could we do that competitors aren’t doing?
You may discover opportunities hidden in plain sight.
The Leadership Lesson
The biggest lesson from What a Unicorn Knows is not about unicorns at all.
It’s about focus.
The companies that scale fastest are often not the smartest, the best funded, or the most innovative.
They are the ones that understand customer progress most deeply and align their people, strategy, execution, and culture around helping customers succeed.
When you shift your focus from selling products to enabling customer success, growth becomes far easier to achieve.
And that is a lesson every mid-market company can apply immediately.
Final Thought
Many leaders spend their strategic planning sessions asking:
“How do we sell more?”
The better question is:
“How do we help our customers succeed more?”
The answer to that question often becomes the foundation of sustainable growth, stronger customer loyalty,and a business that consistently outperforms its competitors.
Call to Action
If your leadership team would benefit from identifying the hidden customer insights that drive growth, Strategy & Execution Advisors facilitates strategy sessions that help leadership teams uncover customer success drivers, sharpen differentiation, and build execution plans that accelerate growth and business value.
TED BONEL, SCALING UP PRACTITIONER – STRATEGY & EXECUTION BUSINESS ADVISORS
Are you looking to scale your business and execute strategy with clarity and impact? I help CEOs and founders turn big ideas into real-world results, guiding small to mid-market companies through tailored strategic insights that drive growth.
My expertise lies in simplifying complexity – bridging high-level strategic frameworks with the practical realities of running a business. Unlike many consultants who focus solely on theory or execution, I specialise in both—translating strategy into actionable, transformative steps that deliver lasting results.
Contact me at tedb@strategyandexecution.com.au to schedule a free 30-minute discovery meeting.
ABOUT STRATEGY & EXECUTION
For over 20 years, Strategy & Execution has supported leaders and organisations in developing and executing winning strategies. We provide expert facilitation, executive education, and hands-on consulting to help businesses refine their strategic direction and implement it effectively.
Using proven methodologies like Scaling Up, E-Myth Mastery, Outthinker, and more, we challenge conventional thinking and equip organisations with the tools to accelerate growth. Our approach is dynamic—combining deep business experience with practical execution. We don’t just advise; we roll up our sleeves and work alongside you to make strategy happen.
If you’re preparing for a strategy development or execution challenge and are committed to creating real value, we’d love to hear from you. Learn more about our work or upcoming workshops
What Mid-Market Leaders Can Learn from the World’s Most Successful Unicorns
By Ted Bonel | Strategy & ExecutionAdvisors
Most business leaders assume unicorn companies—those rare businesses valued at over $1 billion—succeed because they have brilliant technology, massive funding, or extraordinary talent.
According to Matthew E. May inWhat a Unicorn Knows,that assumption is largely wrong.
The real differentiator isn’t technology.
It isn’t capital.
And it isn’t even innovation.
The most successful high-growth companies have mastered something far more fundamental.
They know what their customers are trying to achieve better than anyone else.
This insight sounds simple, yet it has profound implications for every mid-market business.
Whether you run a transport company, professional services firm, manufacturer, wholesaler, healthcare provider, or technology company, the same principle applies.
The businesses that grow fastest are those that understand customer outcomes more deeply than their competitors.
The Problem with Most Business Strategies
Many strategic planning sessions focus on:
- Products
- Services
- Features
- Internal capabilities
- Competitors
Yet customers rarely wake up wanting your product.
They wake up wanting an outcome.
As Harvard professor Theodore Levitt famously observed: “People don’t want a quarter-inch drill. They want a quarter-inch hole.”
He argues that customers “hire” products and services to help them make progress in their lives or businesses.When leaders understand that progress better than anyone else, they unlock extraordinary growth opportunities.
From Customer Satisfaction to Customer Success
Many businesses measure customer satisfaction.
Few measure customer success.
There is a significant difference.
Customer satisfaction asks: “Did we deliver what we promised?”
Customer success asks: “Did we help the customer achieve what they were trying to accomplish?”
Consider the difference.
A transport company doesn’t simply move freight.
It helps customers maintain supply chain reliability.
A wealth management firm doesn’t manage investments.
It helps clients achieve financial confidence.
A software company doesn’t sell software.
It helps customers improve performance, productivity, or profitability.
The shift may seem subtle, but it changes everything.
The Four Questions Every Leadership Team Should Ask
One of the most valuable lessons from What a Unicorn Knows is that leaders need to become obsessed with customer progress.
Ask your leadership team:
1. What job is our customer trying to get done?
Not what they buy.
What are they trying to achieve?
2. What obstacles stand in their way?
Where do they experience frustration, delays, complexity, uncertainty, or risk?
3. What would make success easier?
How can you reduce effort, cost, stress, or time?
4. What out comes matter most?
What metrics define success from the customer’s perspective?
The answers often reveal growth opportunities competitors never see.
Why Most Companies Miss the Opportunity
Many organisations become trapped by internal thinking. They focus on:
- Their products
- Their departments
- Their processes
- Their KPIs
Meanwhile customers are focused on:
- Their problems
- Their goals
- Their frustrations
- Their outcomes
The gap between these two perspectives is often where growth stalls.
I’ve seen many mid-market companies invest heavily in improving internal systems while overlooking fundamental customer frustrations that would unlock far greater growth.
The most successful businesses continually bridge that gap.
The Unicorn Growth Formula
Matthew May identifies a pattern among exceptional growth companies.
They consistently do three things well:
1. Deep Customer Understanding
They spend significant time understanding customers at a level competitors never reach.
2. Outcome-Focused Innovation
They innovate around customer success rather than product features.
3. Relentless Learning
They continuously test assumptions and adapt based on customer feedback.
This creates a powerful flywheel:
Better Understanding → Better Solutions → Better Outcomes → Greater Loyalty → Faster Growth
Many companies attempt to shortcut this process through marketing. The unicorns build it into their DNA.
What This Means for Mid-Market Companies
You don’t need venture capital.
You don’t need artificial intelligence.
You don’t need a billion-dollar valuation.
But you do need a deeper understanding of your customers than your competitors possess.
Ask yourself:
- What does success look like for our customers?
- What prevents them from achieving it?
- What frustrations do they tolerate today?
- What assumptions are we making about their needs?
- What would delight them?
The answers often uncover the next stage of growth.
A Practical Exercise for Your Next Strategy Session
Gather your leadership team and answer these questions:
Customer Success Workshop:
- What progress are customers trying to make?
- What are their biggest frustrations?
- What outcomes matter most?
- What assumptions are we making?
- What would make their lives easier?
- Where are we creating unnecessary friction?
- What could we do that competitors aren’t doing?
You may discover opportunities hidden in plain sight.
The Leadership Lesson
The biggest lesson from What a Unicorn Knows is not about unicorns at all.
It’s about focus.
The companies that scale fastest are often not the smartest, the best funded, or the most innovative.
They are the ones that understand customer progress most deeply and align their people, strategy, execution, and culture around helping customers succeed.
When you shift your focus from selling products to enabling customer success, growth becomes far easier to achieve.
And that is a lesson every mid-market company can apply immediately.
Final Thought
Many leaders spend their strategic planning sessions asking:
“How do we sell more?”
The better question is:
“How do we help our customers succeed more?”
The answer to that question often becomes the foundation of sustainable growth, stronger customer loyalty,and a business that consistently outperforms its competitors.
Call to Action
If your leadership team would benefit from identifying the hidden customer insights that drive growth, Strategy & Execution Advisors facilitates strategy sessions that help leadership teams uncover customer success drivers, sharpen differentiation, and build execution plans that accelerate growth and business value.
TED BONEL, SCALING UP PRACTITIONER – STRATEGY & EXECUTION BUSINESS ADVISORS
Are you looking to scale your business and execute strategy with clarity and impact? I help CEOs and founders turn big ideas into real-world results, guiding small to mid-market companies through tailored strategic insights that drive growth.
My expertise lies in simplifying complexity – bridging high-level strategic frameworks with the practical realities of running a business. Unlike many consultants who focus solely on theory or execution, I specialise in both—translating strategy into actionable, transformative steps that deliver lasting results.
Contact me at tedb@strategyandexecution.com.au to schedule a free 30-minute discovery meeting.
ABOUT STRATEGY & EXECUTION
For over 20 years, Strategy & Execution has supported leaders and organisations in developing and executing winning strategies. We provide expert facilitation, executive education, and hands-on consulting to help businesses refine their strategic direction and implement it effectively.
Using proven methodologies like Scaling Up, E-Myth Mastery, Outthinker, and more, we challenge conventional thinking and equip organisations with the tools to accelerate growth. Our approach is dynamic—combining deep business experience with practical execution. We don’t just advise; we roll up our sleeves and work alongside you to make strategy happen.
If you’re preparing for a strategy development or execution challenge and are committed to creating real value, we’d love to hear from you. Learn more about our work or upcoming workshops
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