The Unicorn Within: Unlocking Startup Speed and Disruption Inside Big Companies

Book Summary:

The Unicorn Within by Linda Yates is a bold and actionable manifesto for large companies ready to reclaim innovation. Rather than getting outpaced by startups, Yates shows how established corporations can turn their inherent strengths—capital, talent, customers, and brand—into fuel for disruptive venture creation. Through a structured, scalable framework from Ideate to Incubate, Accelerate, and Scale, this book provides a repeatable method for building breakthrough businesses at startup speed—all from within.

What You’ll Discover in the Book:

This book equips corporate leaders and internal innovators with the playbook to build high-impact ventures, not just once, but as an ongoing practice. Yates dives into the mindset, process, and organizational structure needed to create a “Venture Factory”—a pipeline of game-changing initiatives. You’ll learn how to unleash innovation, manage internal friction with the “Mothership,” and tap into existing corporate assets to gain strategic advantage. This is not theory; it’s a practical, tested approach already adopted by leading global organizations.

Why You Should Read This Book:

If you’re an executive, intrapreneur, or innovation leader in a large company, The Unicorn Within is your guide to surviving and thriving in a startup-driven world. With clear tools, templates, and real-life examples, it’s more than inspiration—it’s a hands-on guide to shifting from slow, risk-averse processes to nimble, opportunity-driven ventures. It’s especially powerful for organizations that want to scale innovation without outsourcing their future to Silicon Valley.

About the Author:

Linda Yates is the Founder and CEO of Mach49, a Silicon Valley-based growth engine builder for the Global 1000. With over three decades of experience as a strategist, venture advisor, and board member, she’s worked with world-leading organizations to design and scale venture ecosystems from the inside out. A former CEO of Strategos and board director for Sybase (now SAP), Yates merges deep corporate insight with the agility of a serial entrepreneur. Through Mach49 and its new Growth Institute, she’s on a mission to democratize innovation and equip global companies with the capabilities to generate their own Unicorns—sustainably and repeatedly.