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https://github.com/james-see/unicorn

text based startup adventure - play as vc and make bets on startups or try to be the unicorn
https://github.com/james-see/unicorn

cli-app game golang text-based-game

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text based startup adventure - play as vc and make bets on startups or try to be the unicorn

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README 

          
# unicorn

text based startup adventure - play as vc and make bets on startups **OR** build your own startup and try to become the unicorn! 🦄



Image



## Install



### Homebrew (macOS/Linux)



```bash

brew install james-see/tap/unicorn

```



### From Source



```bash

go get github.com/jamesacampbell/unicorn

```



## Nutshell



**TWO GAME MODES:**



### 🎩 VC Investor Mode (Classic)

You manage a realistic VC fund ($500K-$1M) competing against AI investors like CARL from Sterling & 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?



### 🚀 Startup Founder Mode (NEW!)

**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?



## Features



## 🚀 Founder Mode Features (v3.18.0)



### 🎯 Build Your Startup

- **10 Startup Templates:** SaaS, DeepTech, GovTech, Hardware - each with unique metrics

- **Customer Acquisition:** Multiple channels - direct sales, affiliate program, partnerships, global expansion

- **Revenue Growth:** Build MRR through customer deals with variable pricing

- **Product Development:** Improve product maturity to reduce churn and increase sales velocity

- **Team Building:** Hire engineers, sales, customer success, marketing, and C-suite executives



### 💰 Funding & Equity

- **Funding Rounds:** Raise Seed, Series A, Series B with realistic term sheets

- **Equity Management:** Track dilution, manage employee equity pool, add board seats

- **Advisory Board:** Hire real Silicon Valley legends with equity + cash costs:

  - **Sales Advisors:** Gary Vaynerchuk, Aaron Ross, Grant Cardone

  - **Product Advisors:** Marty Cagan, Julie Zhuo, April Dunford

  - **Fundraising Advisors:** Marc Andreessen, Naval Ravikant, Jason Calacanis

  - **Operations Advisors:** Sheryl Sandberg, Keith Rabois, Frank Slootman

  - **Strategy Advisors:** Reid Hoffman, Eric Ries, Paul Graham, Ben Horowitz

- **Monthly Board Guidance:** Advisors provide tangible benefits (MRR boosts, cost savings, churn reduction)



### 🏆 Exit Options (Win the Game!)

Three ways to exit and cash out:

1. **🏛️ IPO** - Take company public ($20M ARR, 40%+ growth, multiple rounds)

2. **🤝 Strategic Acquisition** - Sell to acquirer ($5M ARR, 50+ customers)

3. **💼 Secondary Sale** - Sell 50% to private equity ($10M ARR, profitable)



### 📊 Realistic Business Metrics

- **Key SaaS Metrics:** LTV:CAC, CAC Payback, Rule of 40, Burn Multiple, Magic Number

- **Customer Health:** Track healthy, at-risk, and critical customers

- **Financial Dashboard:** View detailed revenue breakdown, expenses, net income, margins

- **Monthly Highlights:** Auto-generated wins and concerns

- **Board Sentiment:** Investor happiness and pressure tracking

- **Infrastructure Costs:** Cloud compute and ODC scale with customers



### 🎮 Strategic Decisions

- **Partnerships:** Distribution, technology, co-marketing, data partnerships

- **Global Expansion:** Launch in Europe, Asia, LATAM, Middle East, Africa, Australia

- **Affiliate Program:** Launch and manage affiliate sales channel

- **Pivot Strategy:** Change direction when needed (30-70% success rate)

- **Competitor Management:** Handle competition through various strategies

- **Marketing Spend:** Acquire customers through paid campaigns

- **Customer Feedback:** Improve product maturity by listening to customers



### 📈 Advanced Features

- **Individual Customer Tracking:** View all customer deals, terms, and health scores

- **Team Roster:** Track employee equity vesting, cliffs, and performance

- **Strategic Opportunities:** Random time-sensitive events (enterprise pilots, press, conferences)

- **Cancel-Friendly Menus:** View data and explore options without wasting a month

- **60 Month Journey:** Build over 5 years or exit early once requirements are met



### 🎁 Founder Mode Upgrades (NEW!)

Earn achievement points and unlock permanent upgrades:

- **Fast Track** (200 pts): Start with 10% more product maturity

- **Sales Boost** (250 pts): +15% to initial MRR

- **Lower Burn** (300 pts): -10% monthly team costs

- **Better Terms** (350 pts): Raise funding with 5% less equity given away

- **Quick Hire** (200 pts): First 3 hires cost 50% less

- **Market Insight** (250 pts): See competitor threat levels

- **Churn Shield** (300 pts): Reduce churn by 10% permanently

- **Cloud Free First Year** (300 pts): No cloud compute costs for first 12 months



### 🏆 Founder Mode Achievements (NEW!)

- **10 Founder Achievements:** Earn points for milestones like reaching $100K MRR, going profitable, raising Series A, IPO exits, and more

- **Point System:** Founder mode games contribute to your career level progression

- **Score Tracking:** All founder mode scores saved to leaderboard with ROI calculation



## 🎩 VC Investor Mode Features



### 🎮 Core Gameplay

- **Investment Mechanics:** Invest any amount in 20 different startups (NEW!)

- **Portfolio Tracking:** Real-time valuation of all your investments

- **Turn-Based System:** 60 turns (5 years) across all difficulty levels

- **Random Events:** 60+ events that impact company valuations (NEW!)

- **Performance Ratings:** From "Unicorn Hunter" (1000%+ ROI) to "Lost Money"

- **Advanced Analytics:** Sector breakdown, best/worst performers (NEW!)



### 🎁 VC Mode Upgrades (NEW!)

Earn achievement points and unlock permanent upgrades:

- **Fund Booster** (100 pts): +10% starting cash

- **Management Fee Reduction** (150 pts): Fees reduced from 2% → 1.5%

- **Enhanced SAFE Discount** (150 pts): SAFE discount increases from 20% → 25%

- **Super Pro-Rata** (200 pts): Can invest up to 50% of round (vs 20% max)

- **Seed Accelerator** (400 pts): First investment gets 25% equity bonus

- **Portfolio Insurance** (500 pts): Protect one investment from down round dilution per game

- **Strategic Advisor** (300 pts): See next board vote preview

- **Market Intelligence** (250 pts): See category trends before investing

- **Speed Mode** (200 pts): 30 turns instead of 60

- **Endurance Mode** (250 pts): 120 turns instead of 60



### 💰 Realistic VC Mechanics (NEW!)

- **Management Fees:** 2% annual fee charged monthly (just like real VC funds!)

- **Multiple Funding Rounds:** Companies raise Seed, Series A, B, C rounds

- **Dilution System:** Your equity % decreases with each new round

- **Post-Money Valuation:** Realistic pre-money + investment calculations

- **AI Competition:** Play against 3 AI VCs with different strategies

  - **CARL** (Sterling & Cooper) - Conservative investor

  - **Sarah Chen** (Accel Partners) - Aggressive growth hunter

  - **Marcus Williams** (Sequoia Capital) - Balanced approach



### 🏆 Difficulty Levels

- **Easy:** $1M fund, 20% event chance, 3% volatility

- **Medium:** $750k fund, 30% event chance, 5% volatility  

- **Hard:** $500k fund, 40% event chance, 7% volatility

- **Expert:** $500k fund, 50% event chance, 10% volatility



### 📊 Persistence & Competition (NEW!)

- **Leaderboards:** Track top 10 scores by net worth or ROI

- **Statistics:** View career stats for any player

- **Recent Games:** See the last 10 games played

- **SQLite Database:** All scores saved locally

- **Difficulty Filters:** Separate leaderboards for each difficulty



### 🏢 20 Diverse Startups (NEW!)

Choose from companies across 12+ sectors:

- **FinTech:** AI-powered trading platforms

- **BioTech:** Nanotechnology drug delivery  

- **CleanTech:** Sustainable packaging, food waste conversion

- **HealthTech:** VR meditation apps

- **EdTech:** TikTok-style education

- **Robotics:** Automated kitchen systems

- **Security:** Blockchain & quantum-resistant encryption

- **Gaming:** Cloud gaming platforms

- **LegalTech:** AI legal document automation

- **AgriTech:** Vertical farming kits

- **Logistics:** Last-mile delivery drones

- **IoT:** Smart home control hubs

- **Creative:** AI-generated music

- **CloudTech:** Infrastructure optimization

- **Social Media:** Pet social networks

- **Advertising:** Unicycle billboards

- **Consumer Goods:** IoT finger puppets, pet umbrellas



### 📈 Strategic Depth

- **Risk Indicators:** See which companies are high/medium/low risk

- **Growth Potential:** Evaluate each startup's growth prospects

- **Sector Diversity:** Spread your bets across different industries

- **Capital Allocation:** Balance investment vs. cash reserves

- **Difficulty Selection:** Choose your challenge level



### 🎯 Scoring System

- Net worth calculation (cash + portfolio value)

- ROI (Return on Investment) percentage

- Successful exits counter (5x+ returns)

- Performance tier ratings (6 levels)

- Persistent leaderboards

- Career statistics



### 🏆 Achievements & Progression (NEW!)

- **45+ Achievements** across 6 categories (35 VC + 10 Founder)

- **Career Levels:** 11 levels from Intern to Legendary Investor

- **Point System:** Earn 5-100 points per achievement

- **Rarity Tiers:** Common, Rare, Epic, Legendary

- **Win Streaks:** Track consecutive victories

- **Auto-Unlock:** Achievements awarded automatically after each game

- **Persistent Progress:** Never lose your achievements

- **Special Achievements:** Hidden achievements to discover

- **Cross-Mode Progression:** Points from both VC and Founder mode contribute to career level



### 💎 Player Progression System (v3.20.0)

- **50 Levels:** Progress from "Novice Investor" to "Titan of Industry"

- **Experience Points (XP):** Earned after every game in both modes

  - Base: 100 XP per game completion

  - Performance: +50 XP for positive ROI, +200 XP per successful exit

  - Difficulty: 0/50/100/200 XP for Easy/Medium/Hard/Expert

  - Achievements: +10 XP × achievement points

  - Founder Bonuses: +500 XP for IPO, +300 for acquisition, +100 for profitability

- **Level Unlocks:** Progressive difficulty and feature unlocks

  - Level 5: Hard Difficulty

  - Level 10: Expert Difficulty + Analytics Dashboard

  - Level 15: Nightmare Mode + Achievement Chains

  - Level 20+: Game Modifiers, Secondary Markets, Prestige System

- **Visual Progress:** XP bars, level-up celebrations, and progress tracking

- **Persistent Profiles:** Player profiles with level history and total XP earned

- **Rank Titles:** Earn prestige titles as you level up



## How to Play



```bash

# Build the game

go build -o unicorn



# Run it

./unicorn



# Main Menu:

# 1. New Game - Choose VC Mode or Founder Mode

# 2. Leaderboards - View top scores

# 3. Player Statistics - Check your career stats

# 4. Achievements - View achievements & career level

# 5. Progression & Levels - View your XP, level, and unlocks

# 6. Analytics Dashboard - Performance trends and insights

# 7. Upgrades - Purchase permanent upgrades with achievement points

# 8. Help & Info - Complete game guide

# 9. Quit



# After starting a new game, you'll be prompted:

# 1. VC Investor Mode (Classic) - Build a portfolio of startups

# 2. Startup Founder Mode (New!) - Build your own startup

```



### 🚀 Founder Mode Quick Start

1. Select "Startup Founder Mode" from the game mode menu

2. Choose your startup from 10 templates (SaaS, DeepTech, GovTech, Hardware)

3. Each month, make strategic decisions:

   - Hire team members (engineers, sales, CS, marketing, executives)

   - Spend on marketing to acquire customers

   - Launch partnerships and affiliate programs

   - Raise funding rounds when needed

   - Manage board and equity pool

   - Expand to new markets

   - Hire advisors for strategic guidance

   - View financials, team roster, customer deals

4. Watch your MRR grow, manage churn, and track metrics

5. Once you meet exit requirements, choose your path:

   - IPO on NASDAQ

   - Sell to strategic acquirer

   - Take secondary liquidity from PE

6. Game ends at 60 months or when you exit - **aim for the highest valuation!**



## What's New



### v3.26.0 - VC Firm Name Customization! (LATEST)

- **Custom VC Firm Names**: Set your own firm name (defaults to last name + "Capital")

- **Personalized Experience**: Your firm name appears in board meetings, leaderboards, and throughout the game

- **Smart Defaults**: "James Campbell" automatically becomes "Campbell Capital"



### v3.25.0 - Employee Option Pool Dilution, ROI Predictor & Referral Programs!

- **Employee Option Pool Dilution**: Realistic 15-20% dilution per funding round for employee stock options

- **ROI Predictor**: New analytics tool that projects future ROI with confidence levels

- **End Affiliate Program**: Shut down affiliate programs with customer transition options

- **Customer Referral Program**: Paid referral system where customers refer new customers

- **Enhanced Help & FAQ**: Comprehensive new documentation and VC education



### v3.20.0 - Player Progression System & Enhanced Features!

💎 **Level-Based Progression** - 50 levels with exponential XP requirements and rank titles

📊 **Experience Points** - Earn XP from games, achievements, difficulty bonuses, and exits

🔓 **Level Unlocks** - Progressive unlocking of difficulties (Hard at L5, Expert at L10, Nightmare at L15)

🎯 **XP Rewards** - Detailed breakdown after every game showing exactly what you earned

🎉 **Level-Up Celebrations** - Visual celebrations when you reach new levels with unlock previews

📈 **Achievement Chains** - Connected achievements with prerequisites and progress tracking

🔍 **Progressive Achievements** - Track progress toward milestones (e.g., "Win 10 games: 4/10")

🎭 **Hidden Achievements** - Mystery achievements revealed only upon unlock

📊 **Analytics Dashboard** - Deep insights with trend analysis, difficulty breakdowns, and AI recommendations

🌍 **Market Cycles** - Dynamic economic conditions affecting startup valuations

🎮 **Mode-Specific Upgrades** - Upgrades now correctly filtered by game mode (VC vs Founder)



### v3.8.0 - Exit Options & Advisory Board!

🏛️ **Exit Options** - IPO, Strategic Acquisition, or Secondary Sale with realistic requirements

👔 **Advisory Board** - Hire real Silicon Valley legends (Gary V, Marc Andreessen, Reid Hoffman, etc.)

💰 **Advisor Costs** - Setup fees ($10-50k) + equity (0.25-1%) + optional monthly retainers

📊 **Monthly Guidance** - Advisors provide tangible benefits (MRR growth, cost savings, churn reduction)

🎯 **Cancel-Friendly Menus** - View data and cancel decisions without wasting turns

💼 **Financial Dashboard** - Comprehensive view of revenue, expenses, margins, and runway

🎉 **Victory Screens** - Detailed exit-specific endings with payout breakdowns



### v3.7.0 - Founder Mode!

🚀 **Build Your Own Startup** - Play as a founder, not just an investor!

📈 **Realistic Growth** - Customer acquisition, MRR tracking, churn management

💵 **Funding Rounds** - Raise Seed, Series A, Series B with proper term sheets

👥 **Team Management** - Hire engineers, sales, CS, marketing, C-suite

🌍 **Global Expansion** - Launch in 6 international markets

🤝 **Partnerships** - Strategic partnerships for growth

📊 **SaaS Metrics** - LTV:CAC, Rule of 40, Burn Multiple, and more



### Phase 5 - Realistic VC Fund Simulation!

🎯 **AI Competition** - Play against 3 computer VCs with different strategies

💰 **Management Fees** - 2% annual fees reduce your capital (realistic!)

📊 **Multiple Funding Rounds** - Companies raise Seed, Series A/B/C

📉 **Dilution Mechanics** - Your ownership % decreases with new rounds

🏆 **Competitive Leaderboard** - See how you rank vs AI investors

💼 **Larger Funds** - $500K-$1M fund sizes (realistic VC scale)

📈 **Post-Money Valuations** - Proper pre/post money calculations



### Phase 4 - Achievements & Progression!

✅ **35+ Achievements** across 6 categories (Wealth, Performance, Strategy, Career, Challenge, Special)

✅ **11 Career Levels** from Intern to Legendary Investor

✅ **Point-Based Progression** - Earn points, level up, unlock titles

✅ **Achievement Tracking** - Persistent database, never lose progress

✅ **Real-time Notifications** - See new achievements after each game

✅ **Rarity System** - Common, Rare, Epic, Legendary achievements

✅ **Win Streak Tracking** - Build momentum with consecutive wins



### Phase 3 - Content Expansion & Analytics

✅ **20 Startup Companies** (doubled!)

✅ **60 Random Events** (doubled!)

✅ **Advanced Analytics System** with sector breakdown

✅ **Help & Information Menu** with complete guide

✅ **12+ Industry Sectors** for strategic diversification



## Roadmap



See [ROADMAP.md](ROADMAP.md) for the complete feature roadmap and planned enhancements.



**Quick Summary:**

- ✅ Many features already implemented (upgrades, board seats, follow-on investments, syndicates, global leaderboards)

- 🚧 Planned: Carry interest, more AI personalities, portfolio dashboard, competitor AI for founder mode

- 📋 Full details and priorities in [ROADMAP.md](ROADMAP.md)



## Demo



![unicorn-demo 2019-01-02 16_21_43](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/616585/50613136-95163300-0eaa-11e9-9e0b-a4ed7c57bc71.gif)