The Adventures of Dot & Dash
What the Hell is a Zebra Startup?
You've heard of the unicorn startup? Well, here's a new kind of startup milestone that some founders are finding more fulfilling.
Drawn and written by: Jay Kidd
Introduction
For the past decade, the startup world has been chasing one alluring, mythical creature: the unicorn. In investor terms, that means a private company valued at over $1 billion. The name itself suggests a fantasy. And for most founders, that’s exactly what it is.
A 2023 Pitchbook analysis found that only 1.3% of venture-backed startups ever achieve unicorn status. The rest fade away quietly, sell for scraps, or struggle along in obscurity. Yet the myth persists: build fast, raise faster, and maybe you too will join the billion-dollar club.
But a growing number of founders are writing a different story. Instead of chasing unicorns, they’re building something real, sustainable, and quietly transformative. They’re building zebras, companies that balance profit with purpose and measure success in longevity, not hype.
What’s Wrong with Unicorns?
The unicorn model runs on a kind of high-stakes venture math. Investors expect one or two breakout successes to deliver massive returns to make up for the many startups that fail. That structure pushes founders toward breakneck growth at all costs, often at the expense of long-term sustainability.
The results are predictable: founders are told to grow fast or die trying. Profitability becomes a distraction. Teams burn out. Products ship before they’re ready. Valuations swing wildly based on perception, not performance.
For every celebrated unicorn, there are hundreds of startups left adrift. What gets lost is a simple truth: a company that grows steadily, employs responsibly, and serves its users well is already a great success.
Enter the Zebra
A zebra startup is a company built for profit and purpose. The idea, coined by founders Mara Zepeda, Jennifer Brandel, Astrid Scholz, and Aniyia Williams, offers a grounded alternative to the unicorn myth, one that reflects how real people and businesses actually operate.
Zebra startups are the opposite of unicorns in almost every way. They’re real, not mythical. They grow with intention rather than explosive speed. They measure success in years, not quarters, and they value resilience just as much as revenue.
Zebra founders also focus on serving the right markets, not the biggest ones. They prioritize trust over velocity. And instead of competing ruthlessly, they often collaborate, forming what the Zebras Unite movement calls a “dazzle” of startups.
Building for Enough
The zebra mindset is a kind of quiet rebellion against Silicon Valley’s winner-take-all logic. The focus is on redefining what “enough” means.
A zebra company doesn’t need to capture a billion-dollar market. It can thrive by serving a smaller, overlooked niche that big venture-backed players often ignore. That’s the real hack: finding sustainability in the spaces that unicorns overlook.
These founders aren’t waiting for permission to build differently. They’re designing companies that are profitable by default, customer-funded, and independent by intention. In a market where capital efficiency and durability matter more than hype, this approach looks less idealistic and more like good business.
Profit and Purpose, Together
For years, entrepreneurs were told they had to choose between doing good and doing well. Zebras reject that false narrative. They prove that profit and purpose can strengthen each other, and that integrity can scale alongside impact.
Founders who build this way understand that lasting companies depend on strong human systems. Zebra startups are built to support both the teams behind them and the communities they serve. They earn loyal audiences, pay fair wages, and continue to evolve. In the end, zebras know that caring about people isn’t just good ethics. It’s also smart business.
The Future is Black and White
The unicorn era brought incredible innovation, but also burnout and unsustainable expectations. The zebra movement offers a smarter path forward: substance over spectacle, community over conquest, and sustainability over speed.
As the Zebras Unite founders wrote, “Zebras fix what unicorns break.”
And in the decade ahead, that might be the most valuable innovation of all.
About Dot & Dash
Every month we'll bring you an installment of a new comic series "Dot & Dash." They're a pair of co-founders looking to become the next big unicorn. With a comedic dynamic similar to the hit Apple TV series "Mythic Quest," every month Dash will wow you with his unique brand of entrepreneurial leadership, and Dot will retort with her sharp, sardonic wit. Along the way, we hope to share some valuable and practical lessons. You'll have fun, and learn.
Author & Artist: Jay Kidd
Jay Kidd is a writer, content strategist, and camera assistant based in New York City. He’s written for Adobe, Frame.io Insider, ICG Magazine, and other industry publications, and has snapped slates on shows like "The Good Wife," "The Affair," "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," and many more. When he’s not writing or working, he’s probably talking to a stranger’s dog.
