Nowadays I get a little itchy whenever someone introduces their startup as “the next unicorn”. Daaangg, I spent years in that hunt myself, chasing hockey-stick charts and building products that had to grow faster than they possibly could (faster than they could??? That was literally the plan). It took me a while, and a pony, to notice that the animal I actually needed was a lot less magical.
I used to live on an island farm in my hometown (very indie movie, I know), until I left to hunt unicorns abroad. After one of those hunts failed, I went back to the same farm, where I still have a house, to spend some time with my family and start some new projects. That’s where I shared space with a bunch of animals and a horse named Camila. A small horse, probably a pony (?). Her main job was to keep the grass low and turn it into manure, and that was it. I was glad nobody was riding her. The one time I saw someone try, I hid her saddle and said it was stolen. Oooops. First time admitting that, and I hope my father in law never reads this.
While she was getting her job done, I was coding and designing in my own unconventional way, with no fancy degree and a lot of late-night debugging. Friends called me a “GoHorse” developer and we all laughed, but it wasn’t really a joke to me. It was an honest way to work, without any of the “fake it till you make it” nonsense the unicorn crowd loved so much.
One Saturday, feeling burned out, I went outside to check on Camila. The chickens and the birds were putting on a full concert, with the cows doing backing vocals.
Camila was in the stable, looking at me completely unimpressed, and I scratched behind her ears until my head stopped replaying the week’s bug list.
I led her into the paddock, her brownish fur catching the sun. She had this incredible black eye, the kind that judges you a little, and I loved that eye. As we walked, I thought about the unicorns I had been chasing in the startup world, with their shiny ideas and huge promises that mostly ended in letdowns.
A pony, Dieguito? With your talent? Ponies don’t raise a Series A, no?
– My Favorite VC
Theeeen… she stopped and stared at an old wall at the edge of the paddock, and there it was, a wildflower poking out of the cracks. Okay universe, not very subtle. Hmmm, maybe the trick was never chasing the impossible thing, just taking care of the real one. Camila nickered. Either she read minds or she was just hungry.
At one point I tripped over a root and landed face first in the grass. Camila gave me a nudge, as if saying “bugs happen”, and I laughed, because laughing at myself is my second language, right after JavaScript.
By sunset I had it all figured out (or thought I did): horses never promise you the moon, and unicorns ghost you the moment reality kicks in.
I spent the last hour with Camila untangling ropes and telling her about my latest project fails, and she listened without asking about my traction even once.
I walked home with grass on my shirt and a slightly clearer head, which on a week like that was already a win.
Aaand.. here I am, back at my desk, with a pony as my new business advisor.
I’m here for real horses,
not unicorns.
I’m here to break even,
not break hearts.
Sometimes,
real is magical,
the most magical thing
of all.
(っ-,-)つ𐂃