The terms, conditions and trends affecting VC-backed unicorns

In less than two years, the VC industry has transformed a mythical creature into a somewhat common one. PitchBook has released its inaugural VC Unicorn Report, which dives into the terms, conditions and trends affecting VC-backed companies worth $1 billion or more. Drawing on valuation documents and more than 25,000 company valuations housed in the PitchBook Platform, the report breaks down valuation trends for specific companies, including protection terms, protective provisions, dividends, liquidation preferences, participation rights, voting rights and elections of Boards of Directors. The video above takes a look into the report and lends some insight into the current state of U.S. unicorns, including:

• 32 new unicorns have been minted in 2015 through August
• The average age of unicorns has been steadily decreasing, down from over eight years in 2014 to under seven in 2015
• Unicorns are achieving their valuations more gradually; the median valuation step-up from a unicorn’s prior round is currently 2.1x, down from 2.4x last year and 4.4x in 2013
• Startups are receiving unicorn status quicker; the average time between first VC round and unicorn round has decreased from about six years in 2014 to about five this year
• When comparing to the Russell 2K Growth Index, median VC valuations are outpacing overall comparable tech stock growth