# Why would a unicorn work for you?

_2015-07-14 · Pekka Hartikainen_

> The funny thing about startup (and other) CEOs is that they think the product and problem space they are providing to a designer candidate is remarkably interesting.

In reality, that is not often the case. Improving a trivial B2B software solution in a “dynamic” environment isn’t usually what unicorns are looking for.
_Venn diagram: UX & Product, Design and Tech. The unicorn is where all three overlap._

The unicorns aren’t stupid — that’s why they are unicorns in the first place. They are usually better than an average person at spotting whether the company has potential or not. Why would a unicorn work for you — wouldn’t a unicorn be capable of starting his own company instead? There are a couple things you can offer to attract a unicorn:

**1. Capital and connections.** If you can provide significant connections and capital, you can provide something that unicorns don’t necessarily have. Typically, an experienced entrepreneur can start a company with excellent individuals, because they have access to enough capital to hire talent.

**2. Decent salary and meaningful problem space.** If you can provide a decent salary and a meaningful problem space for a designer, you might just get lucky. Designers work to design and make an impact on the world.

**3. Excellent salary and working environment.** In this category, the competitors are basically companies like Google, Facebook etc. There are excellent designers working on [even the tiniest design challenges there](https://medium.com/@caitlinwinner/how-we-changed-the-facebook-friends-icon-dc8526ea9ea8). Although you manage to hire a designer with this setting, great designers tend to look for new challenges after a while unless they are provided meaningful challenges and problem space, mentioned in the previous point.

If you are really lucky, you might get one with **candidness**, **perseverance** and **right timing**, but it is still a long shot. Instead, try to rethink what you have to offer and how you can improve that offer.

https://pekkahartikainen.fi/blog/why-would-an-unicorn-work-for-you