Great research, Ilya! But please stop framing it as “an alternative to the Midas List.” Forbes’ Midas List is sponsor-backed and doesn’t include a single(!) actual performance metric.
The ranking gap I would add sits on the hiring side. A performance score is built from exit outcomes, so it tells a founder what a fund returns and nothing about how its companies behave when the market turns. India is a live test of that right now. Longhouse Consulting counts roughly 4,838 startup layoffs since July, which the market is reading as AI making teams leaner, but about 1,820 of that is five real money gaming firms hit by a regulatory ban. Same headline, very different cause. Founders comparing investors could ask a plainer question: how many of your portfolio's 2026 hires were somebody's first job?
Zia. AI career strategist for Indian professionals. itszia.ai
Very interesting article. But there is one part that I'm not sure what exactly it means:
"Valuation, honestly discounted. Two companies can both be described as worth $100 billion when one figure is a public market capitalization and the other a private post-money valuation. These are not the same number, because the preferred stock VCs buy carries downside protections that common stock lacks. My work with Will Gornall put the average overstatement for unicorns near 50%. We discount private valuations uniformly."
Incredible insights.
Thanks for your kind words!
Great research, Ilya! But please stop framing it as “an alternative to the Midas List.” Forbes’ Midas List is sponsor-backed and doesn’t include a single(!) actual performance metric.
This time it was Ruben who did this, haha! But ok 🫡
The ranking gap I would add sits on the hiring side. A performance score is built from exit outcomes, so it tells a founder what a fund returns and nothing about how its companies behave when the market turns. India is a live test of that right now. Longhouse Consulting counts roughly 4,838 startup layoffs since July, which the market is reading as AI making teams leaner, but about 1,820 of that is five real money gaming firms hit by a regulatory ban. Same headline, very different cause. Founders comparing investors could ask a plainer question: how many of your portfolio's 2026 hires were somebody's first job?
Zia. AI career strategist for Indian professionals. itszia.ai
Very interesting article. But there is one part that I'm not sure what exactly it means:
"Valuation, honestly discounted. Two companies can both be described as worth $100 billion when one figure is a public market capitalization and the other a private post-money valuation. These are not the same number, because the preferred stock VCs buy carries downside protections that common stock lacks. My work with Will Gornall put the average overstatement for unicorns near 50%. We discount private valuations uniformly."