{"id":15797426,"url":"https://github.com/james-see/unicorn","last_synced_at":"2026-03-13T18:31:36.830Z","repository":{"id":71861184,"uuid":"163862191","full_name":"james-see/unicorn","owner":"james-see","description":"text based startup adventure - play as vc and make bets on startups or try to be the unicorn","archived":false,"fork":false,"pushed_at":"2026-02-06T06:59:59.000Z","size":22944,"stargazers_count":1,"open_issues_count":0,"forks_count":0,"subscribers_count":1,"default_branch":"master","last_synced_at":"2026-02-06T15:17:09.357Z","etag":null,"topics":["cli-app","game","golang","text-based-game"],"latest_commit_sha":null,"homepage":"https://james-see.github.io/unicorn/","language":"Go","has_issues":true,"has_wiki":null,"has_pages":null,"mirror_url":null,"source_name":null,"license":"agpl-3.0","status":null,"scm":"git","pull_requests_enabled":true,"icon_url":"https://github.com/james-see.png","metadata":{"files":{"readme":"README.md","changelog":"CHANGELOG.md","contributing":null,"funding":null,"license":"LICENSE","code_of_conduct":null,"threat_model":null,"audit":null,"citation":null,"codeowners":null,"security":null,"support":null,"governance":null,"roadmap":"ROADMAP.md","authors":null,"dei":null,"publiccode":null,"codemeta":null,"zenodo":null,"notice":null,"maintainers":null,"copyright":null,"agents":null,"dco":null,"cla":null}},"created_at":"2019-01-02T16:06:30.000Z","updated_at":"2026-02-06T06:59:01.000Z","dependencies_parsed_at":null,"dependency_job_id":"dca6f6ab-b6e7-4836-8bca-2ee3b668b70b","html_url":"https://github.com/james-see/unicorn","commit_stats":{"total_commits":15,"total_committers":3,"mean_commits":5.0,"dds":0.1333333333333333,"last_synced_commit":"9f77f03f20c2bdb4aabf67e77f2aa3f8d08af3d3"},"previous_names":[],"tags_count":201,"template":false,"template_full_name":null,"purl":"pkg:github/james-see/unicorn","repository_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/repositories/james-see%2Funicorn","tags_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/repositories/james-see%2Funicorn/tags","releases_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/repositories/james-see%2Funicorn/releases","manifests_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/repositories/james-see%2Funicorn/manifests","owner_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/owners/james-see","download_url":"https://codeload.github.com/james-see/unicorn/tar.gz/refs/heads/master","sbom_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/repositories/james-see%2Funicorn/sbom","scorecard":null,"host":{"name":"GitHub","url":"https://github.com","kind":"github","repositories_count":286080680,"owners_count":30322641,"icon_url":"https://github.com/github.png","version":null,"created_at":"2022-05-30T11:31:42.601Z","updated_at":"2026-03-10T01:36:58.598Z","status":"online","status_checked_at":"2026-03-10T02:00:06.579Z","response_time":106,"last_error":null,"robots_txt_status":"success","robots_txt_updated_at":"2025-07-24T06:49:26.215Z","robots_txt_url":"https://github.com/robots.txt","online":true,"can_crawl_api":true,"host_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub","repositories_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/repositories","repository_names_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/repository_names","owners_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/owners"}},"keywords":["cli-app","game","golang","text-based-game"],"created_at":"2024-10-05T00:08:07.318Z","updated_at":"2026-03-13T18:31:36.817Z","avatar_url":"https://github.com/james-see.png","language":"Go","funding_links":[],"categories":[],"sub_categories":[],"readme":"# unicorn\ntext based startup adventure - play as vc and make bets on startups **OR** build your own startup and try to become the unicorn! 🦄\n\n\u003cimg width=\"674\" height=\"489\" alt=\"Image\" src=\"https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/99a8342a-98bf-44e6-b0db-399c2758a196\" /\u003e\n\n## Install\n\n### Homebrew (macOS/Linux)\n\n```bash\nbrew install james-see/tap/unicorn\n```\n\n### From Source\n\n```bash\ngo get github.com/jamesacampbell/unicorn\n```\n\n## Nutshell\n\n**TWO GAME MODES:**\n\n### 🎩 VC Investor Mode (Classic)\nYou manage a realistic VC fund ($500K-$1M) competing against AI investors like CARL from Sterling \u0026 Cooper! Over 5 years (60 turns), navigate multiple funding rounds, manage dilution, and pay 2% annual management fees while building your portfolio. Each month brings events, company funding rounds, and competitive rankings. Will you beat the AI VCs and become the top investor?\n\n### 🚀 Startup Founder Mode (NEW!)\n**Build your own startup from the ground up!** Choose from 10 different startup templates (SaaS, DeepTech, GovTech, Hardware), hire your team, acquire customers, raise funding rounds, and navigate the challenges of being a founder. Make strategic decisions about product development, marketing, hiring, partnerships, and more. Can you grow to $20M ARR and IPO? Or will you get acquired along the way?\n\n## Features\n\n## 🚀 Founder Mode Features (v3.18.0)\n\n### 🎯 Build Your Startup\n- **10 Startup Templates:** SaaS, DeepTech, GovTech, Hardware - each with unique metrics\n- **Customer Acquisition:** Multiple channels - direct sales, affiliate program, partnerships, global expansion\n- **Revenue Growth:** Build MRR through customer deals with variable pricing\n- **Product Development:** Improve product maturity to reduce churn and increase sales velocity\n- **Team Building:** Hire engineers, sales, customer success, marketing, and C-suite executives\n\n### 💰 Funding \u0026 Equity\n- **Funding Rounds:** Raise Seed, Series A, Series B with realistic term sheets\n- **Equity Management:** Track dilution, manage employee equity pool, add board seats\n- **Advisory Board:** Hire real Silicon Valley legends with equity + cash costs:\n  - **Sales Advisors:** Gary Vaynerchuk, Aaron Ross, Grant Cardone\n  - **Product Advisors:** Marty Cagan, Julie Zhuo, April Dunford\n  - **Fundraising Advisors:** Marc Andreessen, Naval Ravikant, Jason Calacanis\n  - **Operations Advisors:** Sheryl Sandberg, Keith Rabois, Frank Slootman\n  - **Strategy Advisors:** Reid Hoffman, Eric Ries, Paul Graham, Ben Horowitz\n- **Monthly Board Guidance:** Advisors provide tangible benefits (MRR boosts, cost savings, churn reduction)\n\n### 🏆 Exit Options (Win the Game!)\nThree ways to exit and cash out:\n1. **🏛️ IPO** - Take company public ($20M ARR, 40%+ growth, multiple rounds)\n2. **🤝 Strategic Acquisition** - Sell to acquirer ($5M ARR, 50+ customers)\n3. **💼 Secondary Sale** - Sell 50% to private equity ($10M ARR, profitable)\n\n### 📊 Realistic Business Metrics\n- **Key SaaS Metrics:** LTV:CAC, CAC Payback, Rule of 40, Burn Multiple, Magic Number\n- **Customer Health:** Track healthy, at-risk, and critical customers\n- **Financial Dashboard:** View detailed revenue breakdown, expenses, net income, margins\n- **Monthly Highlights:** Auto-generated wins and concerns\n- **Board Sentiment:** Investor happiness and pressure tracking\n- **Infrastructure Costs:** Cloud compute and ODC scale with customers\n\n### 🎮 Strategic Decisions\n- **Partnerships:** Distribution, technology, co-marketing, data partnerships\n- **Global Expansion:** Launch in Europe, Asia, LATAM, Middle East, Africa, Australia\n- **Affiliate Program:** Launch and manage affiliate sales channel\n- **Pivot Strategy:** Change direction when needed (30-70% success rate)\n- **Competitor Management:** Handle competition through various strategies\n- **Marketing Spend:** Acquire customers through paid campaigns\n- **Customer Feedback:** Improve product maturity by listening to customers\n\n### 📈 Advanced Features\n- **Individual Customer Tracking:** View all customer deals, terms, and health scores\n- **Team Roster:** Track employee equity vesting, cliffs, and performance\n- **Strategic Opportunities:** Random time-sensitive events (enterprise pilots, press, conferences)\n- **Cancel-Friendly Menus:** View data and explore options without wasting a month\n- **60 Month Journey:** Build over 5 years or exit early once requirements are met\n\n### 🎁 Founder Mode Upgrades (NEW!)\nEarn achievement points and unlock permanent upgrades:\n- **Fast Track** (200 pts): Start with 10% more product maturity\n- **Sales Boost** (250 pts): +15% to initial MRR\n- **Lower Burn** (300 pts): -10% monthly team costs\n- **Better Terms** (350 pts): Raise funding with 5% less equity given away\n- **Quick Hire** (200 pts): First 3 hires cost 50% less\n- **Market Insight** (250 pts): See competitor threat levels\n- **Churn Shield** (300 pts): Reduce churn by 10% permanently\n- **Cloud Free First Year** (300 pts): No cloud compute costs for first 12 months\n\n### 🏆 Founder Mode Achievements (NEW!)\n- **10 Founder Achievements:** Earn points for milestones like reaching $100K MRR, going profitable, raising Series A, IPO exits, and more\n- **Point System:** Founder mode games contribute to your career level progression\n- **Score Tracking:** All founder mode scores saved to leaderboard with ROI calculation\n\n## 🎩 VC Investor Mode Features\n\n### 🎮 Core Gameplay\n- **Investment Mechanics:** Invest any amount in 20 different startups (NEW!)\n- **Portfolio Tracking:** Real-time valuation of all your investments\n- **Turn-Based System:** 60 turns (5 years) across all difficulty levels\n- **Random Events:** 60+ events that impact company valuations (NEW!)\n- **Performance Ratings:** From \"Unicorn Hunter\" (1000%+ ROI) to \"Lost Money\"\n- **Advanced Analytics:** Sector breakdown, best/worst performers (NEW!)\n\n### 🎁 VC Mode Upgrades (NEW!)\nEarn achievement points and unlock permanent upgrades:\n- **Fund Booster** (100 pts): +10% starting cash\n- **Management Fee Reduction** (150 pts): Fees reduced from 2% → 1.5%\n- **Enhanced SAFE Discount** (150 pts): SAFE discount increases from 20% → 25%\n- **Super Pro-Rata** (200 pts): Can invest up to 50% of round (vs 20% max)\n- **Seed Accelerator** (400 pts): First investment gets 25% equity bonus\n- **Portfolio Insurance** (500 pts): Protect one investment from down round dilution per game\n- **Strategic Advisor** (300 pts): See next board vote preview\n- **Market Intelligence** (250 pts): See category trends before investing\n- **Speed Mode** (200 pts): 30 turns instead of 60\n- **Endurance Mode** (250 pts): 120 turns instead of 60\n\n### 💰 Realistic VC Mechanics (NEW!)\n- **Management Fees:** 2% annual fee charged monthly (just like real VC funds!)\n- **Multiple Funding Rounds:** Companies raise Seed, Series A, B, C rounds\n- **Dilution System:** Your equity % decreases with each new round\n- **Post-Money Valuation:** Realistic pre-money + investment calculations\n- **AI Competition:** Play against 3 AI VCs with different strategies\n  - **CARL** (Sterling \u0026 Cooper) - Conservative investor\n  - **Sarah Chen** (Accel Partners) - Aggressive growth hunter\n  - **Marcus Williams** (Sequoia Capital) - Balanced approach\n\n### 🏆 Difficulty Levels\n- **Easy:** $1M fund, 20% event chance, 3% volatility\n- **Medium:** $750k fund, 30% event chance, 5% volatility  \n- **Hard:** $500k fund, 40% event chance, 7% volatility\n- **Expert:** $500k fund, 50% event chance, 10% volatility\n\n### 📊 Persistence \u0026 Competition (NEW!)\n- **Leaderboards:** Track top 10 scores by net worth or ROI\n- **Statistics:** View career stats for any player\n- **Recent Games:** See the last 10 games played\n- **SQLite Database:** All scores saved locally\n- **Difficulty Filters:** Separate leaderboards for each difficulty\n\n### 🏢 20 Diverse Startups (NEW!)\nChoose from companies across 12+ sectors:\n- **FinTech:** AI-powered trading platforms\n- **BioTech:** Nanotechnology drug delivery  \n- **CleanTech:** Sustainable packaging, food waste conversion\n- **HealthTech:** VR meditation apps\n- **EdTech:** TikTok-style education\n- **Robotics:** Automated kitchen systems\n- **Security:** Blockchain \u0026 quantum-resistant encryption\n- **Gaming:** Cloud gaming platforms\n- **LegalTech:** AI legal document automation\n- **AgriTech:** Vertical farming kits\n- **Logistics:** Last-mile delivery drones\n- **IoT:** Smart home control hubs\n- **Creative:** AI-generated music\n- **CloudTech:** Infrastructure optimization\n- **Social Media:** Pet social networks\n- **Advertising:** Unicycle billboards\n- **Consumer Goods:** IoT finger puppets, pet umbrellas\n\n### 📈 Strategic Depth\n- **Risk Indicators:** See which companies are high/medium/low risk\n- **Growth Potential:** Evaluate each startup's growth prospects\n- **Sector Diversity:** Spread your bets across different industries\n- **Capital Allocation:** Balance investment vs. cash reserves\n- **Difficulty Selection:** Choose your challenge level\n\n### 🎯 Scoring System\n- Net worth calculation (cash + portfolio value)\n- ROI (Return on Investment) percentage\n- Successful exits counter (5x+ returns)\n- Performance tier ratings (6 levels)\n- Persistent leaderboards\n- Career statistics\n\n### 🏆 Achievements \u0026 Progression (NEW!)\n- **45+ Achievements** across 6 categories (35 VC + 10 Founder)\n- **Career Levels:** 11 levels from Intern to Legendary Investor\n- **Point System:** Earn 5-100 points per achievement\n- **Rarity Tiers:** Common, Rare, Epic, Legendary\n- **Win Streaks:** Track consecutive victories\n- **Auto-Unlock:** Achievements awarded automatically after each game\n- **Persistent Progress:** Never lose your achievements\n- **Special Achievements:** Hidden achievements to discover\n- **Cross-Mode Progression:** Points from both VC and Founder mode contribute to career level\n\n### 💎 Player Progression System (v3.20.0)\n- **50 Levels:** Progress from \"Novice Investor\" to \"Titan of Industry\"\n- **Experience Points (XP):** Earned after every game in both modes\n  - Base: 100 XP per game completion\n  - Performance: +50 XP for positive ROI, +200 XP per successful exit\n  - Difficulty: 0/50/100/200 XP for Easy/Medium/Hard/Expert\n  - Achievements: +10 XP × achievement points\n  - Founder Bonuses: +500 XP for IPO, +300 for acquisition, +100 for profitability\n- **Level Unlocks:** Progressive difficulty and feature unlocks\n  - Level 5: Hard Difficulty\n  - Level 10: Expert Difficulty + Analytics Dashboard\n  - Level 15: Nightmare Mode + Achievement Chains\n  - Level 20+: Game Modifiers, Secondary Markets, Prestige System\n- **Visual Progress:** XP bars, level-up celebrations, and progress tracking\n- **Persistent Profiles:** Player profiles with level history and total XP earned\n- **Rank Titles:** Earn prestige titles as you level up\n\n## How to Play\n\n```bash\n# Build the game\ngo build -o unicorn\n\n# Run it\n./unicorn\n\n# Main Menu:\n# 1. New Game - Choose VC Mode or Founder Mode\n# 2. Leaderboards - View top scores\n# 3. Player Statistics - Check your career stats\n# 4. Achievements - View achievements \u0026 career level\n# 5. Progression \u0026 Levels - View your XP, level, and unlocks\n# 6. Analytics Dashboard - Performance trends and insights\n# 7. Upgrades - Purchase permanent upgrades with achievement points\n# 8. Help \u0026 Info - Complete game guide\n# 9. Quit\n\n# After starting a new game, you'll be prompted:\n# 1. VC Investor Mode (Classic) - Build a portfolio of startups\n# 2. Startup Founder Mode (New!) - Build your own startup\n```\n\n### 🚀 Founder Mode Quick Start\n1. Select \"Startup Founder Mode\" from the game mode menu\n2. Choose your startup from 10 templates (SaaS, DeepTech, GovTech, Hardware)\n3. Each month, make strategic decisions:\n   - Hire team members (engineers, sales, CS, marketing, executives)\n   - Spend on marketing to acquire customers\n   - Launch partnerships and affiliate programs\n   - Raise funding rounds when needed\n   - Manage board and equity pool\n   - Expand to new markets\n   - Hire advisors for strategic guidance\n   - View financials, team roster, customer deals\n4. Watch your MRR grow, manage churn, and track metrics\n5. Once you meet exit requirements, choose your path:\n   - IPO on NASDAQ\n   - Sell to strategic acquirer\n   - Take secondary liquidity from PE\n6. Game ends at 60 months or when you exit - **aim for the highest valuation!**\n\n## What's New\n\n### v3.26.0 - VC Firm Name Customization! (LATEST)\n- **Custom VC Firm Names**: Set your own firm name (defaults to last name + \"Capital\")\n- **Personalized Experience**: Your firm name appears in board meetings, leaderboards, and throughout the game\n- **Smart Defaults**: \"James Campbell\" automatically becomes \"Campbell Capital\"\n\n### v3.25.0 - Employee Option Pool Dilution, ROI Predictor \u0026 Referral Programs!\n- **Employee Option Pool Dilution**: Realistic 15-20% dilution per funding round for employee stock options\n- **ROI Predictor**: New analytics tool that projects future ROI with confidence levels\n- **End Affiliate Program**: Shut down affiliate programs with customer transition options\n- **Customer Referral Program**: Paid referral system where customers refer new customers\n- **Enhanced Help \u0026 FAQ**: Comprehensive new documentation and VC education\n\n### v3.20.0 - Player Progression System \u0026 Enhanced Features!\n💎 **Level-Based Progression** - 50 levels with exponential XP requirements and rank titles\n📊 **Experience Points** - Earn XP from games, achievements, difficulty bonuses, and exits\n🔓 **Level Unlocks** - Progressive unlocking of difficulties (Hard at L5, Expert at L10, Nightmare at L15)\n🎯 **XP Rewards** - Detailed breakdown after every game showing exactly what you earned\n🎉 **Level-Up Celebrations** - Visual celebrations when you reach new levels with unlock previews\n📈 **Achievement Chains** - Connected achievements with prerequisites and progress tracking\n🔍 **Progressive Achievements** - Track progress toward milestones (e.g., \"Win 10 games: 4/10\")\n🎭 **Hidden Achievements** - Mystery achievements revealed only upon unlock\n📊 **Analytics Dashboard** - Deep insights with trend analysis, difficulty breakdowns, and AI recommendations\n🌍 **Market Cycles** - Dynamic economic conditions affecting startup valuations\n🎮 **Mode-Specific Upgrades** - Upgrades now correctly filtered by game mode (VC vs Founder)\n\n### v3.8.0 - Exit Options \u0026 Advisory Board!\n🏛️ **Exit Options** - IPO, Strategic Acquisition, or Secondary Sale with realistic requirements\n👔 **Advisory Board** - Hire real Silicon Valley legends (Gary V, Marc Andreessen, Reid Hoffman, etc.)\n💰 **Advisor Costs** - Setup fees ($10-50k) + equity (0.25-1%) + optional monthly retainers\n📊 **Monthly Guidance** - Advisors provide tangible benefits (MRR growth, cost savings, churn reduction)\n🎯 **Cancel-Friendly Menus** - View data and cancel decisions without wasting turns\n💼 **Financial Dashboard** - Comprehensive view of revenue, expenses, margins, and runway\n🎉 **Victory Screens** - Detailed exit-specific endings with payout breakdowns\n\n### v3.7.0 - Founder Mode!\n🚀 **Build Your Own Startup** - Play as a founder, not just an investor!\n📈 **Realistic Growth** - Customer acquisition, MRR tracking, churn management\n💵 **Funding Rounds** - Raise Seed, Series A, Series B with proper term sheets\n👥 **Team Management** - Hire engineers, sales, CS, marketing, C-suite\n🌍 **Global Expansion** - Launch in 6 international markets\n🤝 **Partnerships** - Strategic partnerships for growth\n📊 **SaaS Metrics** - LTV:CAC, Rule of 40, Burn Multiple, and more\n\n### Phase 5 - Realistic VC Fund Simulation!\n🎯 **AI Competition** - Play against 3 computer VCs with different strategies\n💰 **Management Fees** - 2% annual fees reduce your capital (realistic!)\n📊 **Multiple Funding Rounds** - Companies raise Seed, Series A/B/C\n📉 **Dilution Mechanics** - Your ownership % decreases with new rounds\n🏆 **Competitive Leaderboard** - See how you rank vs AI investors\n💼 **Larger Funds** - $500K-$1M fund sizes (realistic VC scale)\n📈 **Post-Money Valuations** - Proper pre/post money calculations\n\n### Phase 4 - Achievements \u0026 Progression!\n✅ **35+ Achievements** across 6 categories (Wealth, Performance, Strategy, Career, Challenge, Special)\n✅ **11 Career Levels** from Intern to Legendary Investor\n✅ **Point-Based Progression** - Earn points, level up, unlock titles\n✅ **Achievement Tracking** - Persistent database, never lose progress\n✅ **Real-time Notifications** - See new achievements after each game\n✅ **Rarity System** - Common, Rare, Epic, Legendary achievements\n✅ **Win Streak Tracking** - Build momentum with consecutive wins\n\n### Phase 3 - Content Expansion \u0026 Analytics\n✅ **20 Startup Companies** (doubled!)\n✅ **60 Random Events** (doubled!)\n✅ **Advanced Analytics System** with sector breakdown\n✅ **Help \u0026 Information Menu** with complete guide\n✅ **12+ Industry Sectors** for strategic diversification\n\n## Roadmap\n\nSee [ROADMAP.md](ROADMAP.md) for the complete feature roadmap and planned enhancements.\n\n**Quick Summary:**\n- ✅ Many features already implemented (upgrades, board seats, follow-on investments, syndicates, global leaderboards)\n- 🚧 Planned: Carry interest, more AI personalities, portfolio dashboard, competitor AI for founder mode\n- 📋 Full details and priorities in [ROADMAP.md](ROADMAP.md)\n\n## Demo\n\n![unicorn-demo 2019-01-02 16_21_43](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/616585/50613136-95163300-0eaa-11e9-9e0b-a4ed7c57bc71.gif)\n","project_url":"https://awesome.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/projects/github.com%2Fjames-see%2Funicorn","html_url":"https://awesome.ecosyste.ms/projects/github.com%2Fjames-see%2Funicorn","lists_url":"https://awesome.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/projects/github.com%2Fjames-see%2Funicorn/lists"}