Team strength as a key indicator separating unicorns from the rest The STAR score itself is intuitive. The higher the score, the stronger the team that has been assembled. This is brought to life when comparing the evolution of team scores over time for those companies that suc- ceed in reaching a billion-dollar valuation vs. those that do not. As illustrated in the chart, billion-dollar companies start their journeys with stronger teams right from the earliest years post-founding, and go on to build stronger and stronger teams over time. Of course, there’s no such thing as guaranteed success when it comes to startups, but this indicator is a help- ful tool. Average STAR rating (0-10) evolution post founding year by company status Non-unicorn Unicorn 10 8 g 6 n i t a r R A T S 4 2 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Years since company's founding date Notes: Sources: Powered by The STAR rating uses co-employ- ment networks to map employees‘ movement between companies. Data is as of 20 September 2023. 185 | Talent