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Unicorn provides the ecosystem for SaaS and A.I. efforts to flourish

About Unicorn

Unicorn is not just a service provider but an invested partner, empowering founders and innovators who bring tomorrow's technology to market today. Learn how the software we've developed, partners we've established, and growth models we've proven can immediately impact where you go next.

An animation of rabbit ears wiggling from a magic hat, but out pops a Unicorn instead

Partners

The Unicorn team is devoted to revolutionizing how companies go to market with micro-SaaS and AI-driven solutions. From leading technology accelerators in Fortune 100 companies to building digital transformation models requiring deep marketing and software development expertise - Unicorn can take you where you want to go.

Unicorn team members are passionate about empowering innovation for founders, businesses, and investors who are courageous and pioneering enough to believe they can create what's truly remarkable. Our mission: to light the path companies need to find their way to innovation and profitability.

An AI generated headshot of Clay Unicorn
Managing Partner / Founder

Clay Unicorn

Clay is a force of innovation in the tech world. As an entrepreneur and software engineer for over a decade, Clay innovates in challenges that seem insurmountable and has earned recognition in efforts alongside tech giants like Google, Samsung, Facebook, and Comcast.

Meet Clay Unicorn: not just a unicorn in spirit, but a force of innovation in the tech world. A unique blend of passion for societal evolution and a rich lineage in the startup ecosystem makes Clay an expert you can’t help but listen to—and like.

With a heritage steeped in thriving startups, Clay exudes the essence of entrepreneurial zeal. Having marked a significant presence in software engineering for over a decade, he’s stood side by side with tech giants like Google, Samsung, Facebook, and Comcast. But it’s not just about the big names. Clay’s vision revolves around seeking inventive solutions for challenges, no matter how insurmountable they might seem.

The Maverick

Every app, every startup success story, and every venture bears testimony to Clay’s ethos. For him, the recipe for an unbeatable team lies in harmonizing passion, values, and culture. As a staunch advocate of business fluidity and flexibility, Clay is discerning in his collaborations, choosing to ally with ventures that harness tech for transformative societal impacts.

Specialties:

  • Consulting
  • Business Development
  • Operations
  • Startups
  • Fundraising

Current Pursuits:

  • Tech Exploration
  • Strategic Planning
  • Product Development

The Engineer

Clay’s heart, however, beats the loudest for engineering. Software, mechanical, or anything in between, he thrives on challenges—especially those he’s yet to conquer. A self-proclaimed geek, Clay is always on the lookout for the next tech frontier to explore. From his teenage rendezvous with assembly and C++ to delving deep into the realms of IoT and cloud infrastructures, he’s been there, done that, and is raring for more.

Specialties:

  • Consulting
  • Gamification
  • E-learning
  • Mobile
  • Web

Current Passions:

  • Automation: A.I., Logistic Systems
  • Languages: Typescript, Go, Ruby
  • Frameworks: React, React Native
  • Methodologies: Scrappy

Join Clay on his quest for tech excellence, because when he’s on a mission, it’s not just about change—it’s about legacy.

Illustration of Daniel, a bald british man with glasses
Managing Partner / CEO

Daniel Walpole

Daniel is a leader and curator of cultures committed to excellence. As a Fortune 20 innovator, Daniel's 30-year career includes the inception of digital transformation efforts that he helped scale to over $1B in quarterly, profitable billings under his leadership.

Meet Daniel Walpole, a leader whose mastery in constructing triumphant cultures is unparalleled. With over 10,000 hours of absorbing wisdom from innovators across the globe, navigating language barriers, and delving into various industry verticals, he’s discovered the art of success. His deep understanding of what makes a winning culture has enabled businesses to achieve heights marked by discipline, agility, creativity, empathy, customer-focus, adaptability, excellence, inclusivity, and resilience.

The Leader

The magic of Daniel’s leadership lies in his ability to weave a winning culture, where each strand plays a pivotal role.

Specialties:

  • Uniting individuals to drive collective achievements
  • Fostering ownership of responsibilities
  • Encouraging personal growth and staying ahead of trends
  • Celebrating creativity, experimentation, and novel solutions
  • Building camaraderie and respect
  • Focusing on understanding and meeting customer needs
  • Thriving in change and uncovering opportunities
  • Valuing and empowering individuals
  • Bouncing back from setbacks and maintaining determination

Current Pursuits:

  • Promoting seamless collaboration
  • Fostering an innovative atmosphere
  • Building unyielding determination

The Achiever

Success isn’t just a goal for Daniel; it’s an art form mastered through unwavering commitment, excellence, and a results-driven spirit.

Specialties:

  • Results-Driven Approach: Delivering promises with commitment
  • Excellence: Striving to surpass expectations
  • Positive Culture: Building foundations on positivity and inclusivity
  • Customer Focus: Ensuring exceptional experiences
  • Adaptability: Embracing transformation and challenges

Current Pursuits:

  • Encouraging continuous learning
  • Focus on customer needs and feedback
  • Strengthening the ability to overcome obstacles

Explore the world of winning with Daniel Walpole, where triumph is not an accident but a carefully constructed masterpiece.

AI Generated illustration of Steve Morrison
Managing Partner / CFO

Steve Morrison

Steve is a financial strategist and transformational leader with a focus on planning and governance. Steve is dedicated to scaling businesses towards sustainable, transferable value. He is committed to driving businesses beyond profitability, aiming for long-term value and legacy.

Meet Steve Morrison, a partner and CFO at Unicorn, and a Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA) hailing from the metro Vegas area. Steve’s career is a tapestry of financial and executive leadership roles, weaving a rich blend of experience and insights. With his current role as Area President at FocusCFO, he’s someone you can’t just ignore but want to learn from.

With a work history spanning multiple sectors—technology, healthcare, utilities, and more—Steve embodies the essence of strategic financial planning and governance. Over the years, he’s had impactful tenures with companies like Valley Electric Association, LeyAsher LLC, and CareFusion.

The Strategist

Steve’s leadership vision is driven by his commitment to helping businesses climb the ladder to sustainable, transferrable value. At FocusCFO, he aids small and medium-sized businesses, often stuck in their growth trajectory, to revitalize their financial strategies and performance. Here, he’s not just crunching numbers; he’s providing tools and forward-thinking insights to improve internal cash flow, reduce risk, and fundamentally transform the way businesses operate.

Specialties:

  • Strategic Financial Planning
  • Risk Management
  • Business Development
  • Corporate Governance
  • Exit Strategy and Planning

Current Pursuits:

  • Business Valuation
  • Scalability Strategies
  • Financial Consulting
  • Cash Flow Optimization

The Mentor

Before joining Unicorn, Steve had made significant strides in the utility sector. As the CFO for Valley Electric Association and Lumbee River EMC, he managed assets and revenues in hundreds of millions, providing executive leadership in large utility cooperatives.

His focus has always been on removing barriers to agility, visibility, and productivity within organizations. This makes him the go-to expert for businesses looking to pivot from startup models to more mature and sustainable ones.

Specialties:

  • Utility Management
  • Financial Auditing
  • Corporate Transformation
  • Business Sustainability

Former Roles:

  • Governance and Risk Management at Crowe Horwath
  • Internal Audit Services at Motorola Solutions
  • Global Risk Management Solutions at PwC

The Lifelong Learner

Steve’s curiosity doesn’t stop at finance and governance. As a multifaceted individual, he continuously upgrades his skillset to meet the ever-changing demands of today’s business environment. With a strong focus on tech-enabled solutions and organizational scalability, Steve brings a balanced yet forward-thinking approach to Unicorn.

Current Interests:

  • FinTech Innovations
  • AI in Financial Planning
  • Sustainable Business Models
  • Corporate Leadership Dynamics

Join Steve Morrison on his quest to create businesses that are not just profitable but also valuable. When he takes the helm of financial strategy, it’s not just about balance sheets and income statements; it’s about long-term sustainability and legacy.

An AI illustration of Jason Cormier
Partner / CMO

Jason Cormier

Jason is an entrepreneurial coach and strategist. Helping hundreds of companies grow, with over twenty positively exiting, Jason co-founded one of the world's first social media agencies, is a bestselling author, and has been honored twice as a top 100 Colorado CEO.

Meet Jason Cormier, a digital marketing maestro and innovative leader with a 25-year career enriched with multifaceted accomplishments. From serving in the US Navy to co-founding one of the world’s first social media agencies, from crafting bestsellers to being honored as a top 100 Colorado CEO, Jason’s journey is a tapestry of creativity, resilience, and transformative leadership. Specializing in empowering executives, he’s not just about working hard; he’s about working smart. Whether it’s about connecting strategies to business outcomes or enhancing cross-functional team synergy, Jason’s Mutual Intelligence (MQ) model is designed to catalyze success tailored to unique needs.

Executive Coaching

Jason’s expertise lies in crafting personalized success paths for executives, leveraging his rich career as a digital marketing leader and former agency owner. His approach is more than coaching; it’s a blend of guidance, mentoring, and strategic advising.

Specialties:

  • Breakthrough Achievements: Facilitating leaders to achieve goals that seemed unattainable.
  • Mutual Intelligence (MQ) Model: A unique methodology to bolster learning, operational capacity, marketing and sales effectiveness, and job satisfaction.
  • Cross-Functional Team Leadership: Enhancing team dynamics for happy, productive collaboration.
  • Strategic Business Alignment: Connecting marketing strategies to tangible business outcomes.
  • Customized Success Plans: Personalized plans reflecting unique requirements and investment levels.

Current Pursuits:

  • Industry Trend Analysis: Keeping up with the latest trends to offer informed guidance.
  • Executive Workshops: Frequent lectures at Colorado University’s School of Leeds MBA program.
  • Advisory Roles: Involvement with organizations like HubSpot’s Global Partner Advisory Council.

Personal Growth

From startups to Global 20 brands, Jason’s entrepreneurial spirit has fueled the growth of hundreds of companies across diverse industries.

Specialties:

  • Startups and Growth: Contributions to various industries including SaaS, natural foods, e-commerce.
  • Authorship & Recognition: Co-author of an Amazon bestseller, twice recognized as a top Colorado CEO.
  • Company Development & Sales: Founded and sold three companies, including a web development firm.
  • Marketing Agency Success: Co-founded an award-winning marketing agency with 18 years of leadership.

Current Pursuits:

  • Mentorship and Community Involvement: Adaptive ski instructor for disabled veterans, guitar playing, surf aspirations.
  • Family and Lifestyle: A loving husband, father of two, and a lifelong Denver Broncos fan.

With Jason Cormier, success doesn’t mean sleepless nights; it’s about an insightful journey, joy in learning, and a harmonious balance that enriches not just your business but your life. Join him on this extraordinary path to wisdom and fulfillment.

Illustration of Nick hiking through a village
Partner / EIR

Nick Boncich

Nick is a technical strategist and systems designer. Through roles in technology consulting and innovation sandboxes at Deloitte Digital, Nick's experience brings a valuable perspective to product initiatives that intersect design, technology, and people.

Nick is a seasoned tech operator specializing in product development, business operations, and go-to-market strategies. His expertise lies in collaborating with founders to build and scale technology startups, leveraging his experience at the intersection of design, strategy, technology, and people.

Most recently, his focus has been spearheading a venture studio and startup incubator, where he plays a crucial role in ensuring the success of portfolio companies. By providing strategic business and product development services to high-profile clients, he guides them from ideation to successful implementation, enabling them to thrive in the competitive market.

In his previous role as a technology consultant and product manager at Deloitte, he had the privilege of working with Fortune 500 companies, delivering impactful software solutions. During his tenure, he not only contributed to the success of these companies, but also led the launch of an incubation program and co-founded a mixed reality market offering within Deloitte’s emerging technology division. Additionally, he had the opportunity to advise global leaders on strategic planning, offering valuable insights across various domains.With his extensive background and proven track record, he brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to any project or organization he is involved with. Nick is passionate about driving innovation and collaborating with visionary teams to create groundbreaking solutions that make a meaningful impact.

Partner / Agency

Matt Gavenda

Matt is a strategic director and visual communications specialist. As founder of a digital creative agency over a decade ago, Matt integrates analysis and planning with the creative delivery and iteration required to bring brands powerfully to life online.

Matt has led his own agency for over 10 years with an unyielding passion for artistic expression and an eye for meticulous detail, Matt’s journey began in all things Visual Design, culminating in a profound understanding of branding, user experience, and visual communication. As part of Unicorn, Matt is excited to utilize the experience gained from running his own agency with creative, client acquisition and everything in between.

AI Anime Style Illustration of William Golde
Partner / Growth

William Golde

William is a business developer and revenue accelerator. As one who orchestrates success, William's track record includes transforming multiple disparate tech brands from 6-figure annual revenues to thriving mid-8-figure powerhouses within a remarkably short timespan.

Meet William Golde, a remarkable individual with a diverse background that spans across various industries, yet consistently aligns with sales and business development. Armed with degrees in both Film Production and Economics, William possesses a unique talent for bridging the creative world of artists with the pragmatic sphere of business professionals, effectively propelling projects to successful fruition.

Notably, William’s recent accomplishments have been awe-inspiring. He has orchestrated the rapid ascent of multiple tech brands, transforming them from six-figure enterprises into flourishing mid-eight-figure powerhouses within a remarkably short span. With an extensive career spanning over a decade in global business development and startups, he exemplifies a seamless blend of innate aptitude and profound knowledge, skillfully applied in his roles as the Director of Business Development and esteemed On-Demand VP of Sales, both for Unicorn and their esteemed clients and partners.

Beyond his ceaseless dedication to Unicorn’s clientele, William indulges in his passion for exploration. He embarks on captivating journeys across the vast landscapes of North America, accompanied by his beloved wife and daughter aboard their fully custom lifted 4×4 RV. Engaging in activities as diverse as imparting the art of fly fishing to his daughter or navigating rugged terrains on his mountain bike, William’s zest for adventure and commitment to family values form the backdrop of his enigmatic persona.

Subject Experts

We believe in bringing the best and brightest minds to each endeavor. Our subject matter experts is our backbone, empowering us to specialize in the critical early stages of product development. These stages are often the most exhilarating yet pivotal moments of a venture, and we're here to navigate them with you.

AI Illustration of Anthony
User Experience

Anthony Gracey-Wright

Anthony is a full-stack product designer and brand strategist. As an award-winning design thinker, his work has directly contributed to the profitability and improvement of online experiences for companies like Amazon, Ticketmaster, and Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Anthony Gracey is a seasoned full stack product designer and brand strategist with a track record of over 18 years in the industry, having worked with prestigious companies like Amazon, Ticketmaster, and Blue Shield Blue Cross. Throughout his career, he has led end-to-end experiences for diverse brands, including eCommerce, SaaS, B2B, and B2C digital products. Anthony’s expertise lies in delivering pixel-perfect visual design and captivating interactive experiences, driven by a holistic user-centric process.
Using a blended approach of design thinking, product design, and branding, Anthony excels at reducing complex business use cases into relatable and sticky customer journeys that drive real results. His innovative solutions have led to significant revenue increases and elevated brand experiences for numerous clients.
Anthony’s journey in the creative industry reflects an unwavering dedication to delivering exceptional solutions that align with business goals and cater to user needs. His unique blend of skills, from technical proficiency to product strategy, makes him an invaluable asset to building “unicorn” products.
An illustration of Candace
Community Building

Candace Gillhoolley

Candace makes magic at the intersection of entertainment, storytelling, and technology. She is a master of community building for organizations like the Linux Foundation and specializes in finding and building audiences from the ground up.

As a marketing specialist, Candace consistently creates customized
marketing strategies that produce outstanding results by drawing on
her persuasive leadership abilities. She is an expert in data analytics and creative content curation. This empowers her to create engaging communications that significantly impact the target audience, shape their perception of the brand, and encourage steadfast customer loyalty.

Candace’s evergreen marketing campaigns demonstrate her ability to recognize and apply timeless marketing ideas. She oversees demand generation and customer retention initiatives, demonstrating her skill at driving steady growth and establishing enduring client relationships.

Candace Gillhooley exhibits a sophisticated skill set in her dynamic career and a sincere love of teamwork. She thrives in diverse environments where group efforts result in ground-breaking accomplishments because she values collaboration and cooperation.

Candace continues to be at the forefront of innovation as the marketing environment changes. Her reputation as a true maven in her industry is firmly established by her unwavering dedication to excellence and capacity to change with the dynamics of the industry.

Candace consistently raises the bar for marketing with her extraordinary combination of creativity, technical mastery, and a keen understanding of audience engagement. She is unique at the intersection of entertainment and technology because of her unrelenting pursuit of excellence and unwavering passion for storytelling.

An AI generated illustration of Andrew
Immersive Content

Andrew Gisch

Andrew is a master storyteller and producer of immersive (AR/VR) content and video media. On the bleeding edge of cinematic content and early virtual reality experiences, Andrew pushes the envelope with storytelling for brands like Meta, T-Mobile, and Oculus.

Andrew Gisch is an Traditional & Immersive Media Specialist and Consultant, focusing on cinematic and commercial content and experiences. Combining two core areas of Andrew’s passion and professional experience, filmmaking and technology, Andrew went “all-in” on VR in 2012 around the time Oculus was a kickstarter campaign. In the first year Andrew partnered with other early-adopters and filmmakers and co-founded Visionary VR, the first VR startup to focus on creating VR-specific storytelling tools for creators. Soon after Visionary VR pivoted and the commercial market for VR was in its infant stage, Andrew went on to Direct, DP, and Produce various immersive projects quickly becoming an early leader and expert in the space.  In the years since, Andrew has led projects for various companies such as Google, Samsung, Facebook, PwC, Merck, WPP, Viacom, Discovery, Food Network, and RSA Films to name a few.

In addition to consistently working on cinematic, commercial, and livestream VR projects, Andrew has been active in the areas of Volumetric VR and AR, namely the areas of Volumetric Video Capture, Photogrammetry, and Light Field Capture.

More recently Andrew has utilized his traditional and non-traditional media experience in assisting a number of content-focused startups and ad agencies advance their goals.

Our Values

We journey together

The maxim of "it's not personal, it's just business" is archaic and exploitative. We embrace the human experience at every level, because that's how people work best. We don't have "clients" we have partners and friends that we build businesses with. Our work is personal because our relationships are authentic and this mindset produces the highest quality, most enjoyable results.

Illustration of a woman and unicorn journeying together

Stay focused on solutions

Problems are everywhere, but focusing on or exaggerating them only creates tension and stress; add a delayed or rushed approach to dealing with them and they multiply. With our long history of problem solving across multiple industries, we've crafted an approach to root cause analysis and sequenced problem solving that focuses on the most positive outcome if not an outright innovative solution.

Two unicorns working on their laptos

Always operate transparently

We love pulling rabbits out of a hat, but illusions and tricks don't add value to a business long-term. What's valuable is demystifying these gimmicks and teaching the underlying mechanics, the reason for what we do and how we think. But operating transparently isn't just about pulling back the curtain. For Unicorn, it also stands for saying what we think without sugar coating it, so that you may do the same.

Man staring into mirror and sees a unicorn staring back

We favor diversity

The magic we create for our clients is only possible because of our people. We prioritize diversity when it comes to our team, our thinking, and our clients, as we have found that a variety of perspectives results in dynamic solutions. As technologists, we embody the Vulcan mantra (i.e. Gene Roddenberry) that beauty, growth, progress — all result from the union of the unlike.

A vector illustration of a variety of mythical creatures making a rainbow with their colors and reflections

Pursue life profit

Happiness is achieved more through experiences and living a memorable life than through the acquisition of dollars and cents. Passion being a key ingredient to success in anything, we strive always to pursue projects and partnerships that align with our own values and who seek to be the change they wish to see in the world.

An illustration of a man and horse floating in the sky attached to balloons
A text cutout of a unicorn in a magical forest