By Chris Lipp,Contributor

Copyright forbes

Venture capital increasingly flows to trend leaders.
AFP via Getty Images

The market for venture capital investment is more competitive than ever. Last year saw record levels of venture capital pouring into the startup ecosystem, $368 billion according to KPMG. But while VC deal size went up, VC deal volume went down. Startups are getting bigger deals, but fewer startups are getting funded. As the economy becomes increasingly more uncertain, VCs aren’t spreading their wealth around, they’re going all in on unicorns.

No matter how solid your business, if you don’t position yourself as a unicorn, you limit your chances for success. A recent CB Insights report from July highlights AI deals are the biggest trend in 2025. Lots of action there, no surprise, as investors double down on catching the biggest wave rather than spreading their bets. Meanwhile, investments in the healthcare sector were strong, while fintech deals remained relatively flat.

Regardless of your sector, now is the time to ditch your generic pitch that centers on small-business validation. Here are three tips for how to pitch a unicorn.

Unicorns Harness Market Forces, Not User Problems

Most VCs don’t invest in products, they invest in markets. Look at the explosion of AI investment. In Q1 2025, PitchBook reported that 58% of investment flowed into AI.

The plain-vanilla pitch begins with a customer problem and positions your product to solve that problem. In essence, you leverage customer pain to create demand. But you’re ignoring wider market forces.

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To pitch a unicorn, spotlight the tectonic shifts reshaping your target market, and the surge in demand they’re unleashing.

One finance startup I coached focused on how big banks must now compete with private lenders when offering loans, causing a seismic shift in the lending industry. This shift creates a surge of demand for new technology so banks can thrive in the new climate rather than die. Even though fintech deals, overall, are flat, the startup was able to position itself as the rare unicorn in that sector.

Begin your pitch with market trends, and position your startup as the best solution to navigate these trends. When customers must adapt or die under prevailing market trends, you demonstrate demand for your product with far more force than solving simple problems.

Unicorns Seize The Market, Not Merely Customers

Founders often pitch solid businesses – solid product, solid pipeline, solid team. Solid investment, without unicorn returns. But great startups are like companies in the S&P 500. To attract investors, step out of the trenches of concrete performance and frame your metrics into the larger narrative signaling market dominance.

In 2021, Harvard professor Laura Huang published a study suggesting that founders who pitched using more abstract language conveyed higher growth potential. Abstract language focuses on broad topics like market position and vision. For example, instead of simply saying you have 250% year-over-year growth, position your growth as an indicator that the industry sees you as the de facto next-generation solution. Instead of simply saying you have strong partnerships that yield additional revenue, showcase how these market partnerships position you for being the go-to solution.

Speak like a CEO on market position, not like a CFO or COO. Remember that metrics alone don’t sell your company. Highlight your successful metrics upfront and throughout your pitch, but frame these metrics into a larger narrative signaling your position for market dominance. This approach is vital to raising Series B and beyond.

Unicorns Sell The Future, Not The Company

Many contest-winning pitches begin or end their pitch with a vision, at least according to an analysis of 11 TechCrunch Disrupt winners from 2007 to 2014. But visions aren’t about your company, they’re about the future of the market. A strong vision reframes the conversation from wishful thinking to future reality.

Visions show where the world is headed through current market trends, not where your company is headed. For example, Sam Altman at OpenAI frequently focuses on the future that AI is helping to create, not the future of OpenAI itself.

When you pitch a vision, you paint an abstract picture of an imminent future. This future implies massive demand for your new technology. You position your startup as the key to not only leveraging this future reality, but being the platform that it’s built on.

Solid businesses don’t secure venture capital in today’s ecosystem. Unicorns do. Sell the market, demonstrate your rising dominance, and chart the future of the industry.

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