For those looking to go solo and forge their own path, entrepreneurship can offer opportunities to create bold businesses and gain financial independence. But for those who want to reach for the sky, unicorn entrepreneurship might be the dream. To be considered a unicorn, a business must reach a valuation of $1 billion in less than 10 years.
Dileep Rao, clinical professor of entrepreneurship at FIU Business, hopes to inspire the next generation of business moguls. His new five-part workshop series “Secrets of Unicorn Entrepreneurs,” which started February 7, will serve as a step-by-step guide to launch the next big idea.
“The key is there are three ways to start a business,” said Rao. “One is a small business, one is the venture capital method and the other is the unicorn entrepreneur method. We’re going to talk about specific strategies like identifying the right opportunity and how to finance it.”
The first workshop featured Gaston Taratuta, founder of Aleph Holdings, a Miami-based digital media adverting company. “I had a difficult upbringing, but I say that with pride, because it builds resilience,” he said.
The guru shared his personal story from a $5,000 start-up to becoming an international digital ad giant, earning him the 2022 Global Entrepreneur of the Year title from Ernst and Young.
“We're showing that FIU is very innovative, we make things happen. We're entrepreneurial in the space of education,” said William Hardin, dean of FIU Business. “It's always exciting to bring back people who've been students at FIU because they showed the way that everyone has the opportunity.”
Camila Forero, earning her master’s in marketing, is not interested in becoming an entrepreneur, but she wanted to get inspiration from someone who was able to have a dream and see it come fruition. She realized how much self-doubt prevents others from going for it.
“One of the main things that he taught me with this talk is you have everything at your dispense,” said Forero. “In this age that we have every kind of internet, every kind of resource, every kind of technology and that is not that expensive to start anything that you want.”
The remaining workshops, available to FIU students and the general public, will be held in-person at the CBC complex and virtually, on February 15, 22, 29 and March 7. To register, visit Secrets of Unicorn Entrepreneurs.