Welcome back to The Sunstone Way.
Final Four
First things first. Is your pick still in the mix for the championship?
Mine is. Go Blue Devils!
The field of 68 teams has been narrowed down to four in both the men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournaments. There have been a few upsets and plenty of close games, but the cream has risen to the top for the semi-finals and finals this weekend.
The women’s semi-finals will be tomorrow, Friday, with the championship determined Sunday. The men will follow on Saturday and Monday.
These games will decide the Sunstone Way NCAA Bracket champions too. Be sure to tune in!
Day Of The Unicorn
Next Wednesday, April 9, is a big one for a special mythical creature – it is National Unicorn Day.
The unicorn has been part of human folklore for centuries, but its popularity has likely never been higher than in the last 20 or 30 years. It has become the go-to theme for young girls’ birthdays, bedrooms and more.
The classic unicorn is a white horse-like creature with a single long horn growing from its forehead. The horn is twisted to look carved, and is supposed to be endowed with healing properties.
In Our World
Unicorns in the world of startup businesses are very special as well. It is a phrase used to describe a privately held startup that reaches a value of more than $1 billion.
Finding a unicorn is the ultimate goal for a venture capital investor. It happens almost as rarely as those medieval knights searching the forests for the animal.
But in the case of businesses, especially in the tech world, unicorns do exist. They happen commonly where large capital assets are required to bring a product to market – think Uber, InstaCart, etc. A key to the designation as a unicorn is reaching the $1 billion capitalization level before going public.
New business unicorns are becoming nearly as rare as the creature. Only about 70 companies earned that designation in 2023.
One of our friends, Boom Supersonic, has recently become a unicorn according to Crunchbase. The company is developing a new generation of supersonic passenger jet.
Where Are They?
According to a popular song of the 1960s by The Irish Rovers, the unicorns were too busy playing to make it onto Noah’s Ark. Both C.S. Lewis and Shel Silverstein expressed similar ideas in poems.
More staid scholars are convinced that unicorns never existed, despite stories thousands of years ago referencing “a powerful beast with a single horn.” Those scholars argue that either the picture in profile obscured one of the horns or that the animal being referenced was really a rhinoceros.
It should be noted that the San Diego Zoo has mounted a campaign to save the endangered rhinoceros by calling it a “Chubby Unicorn.”
Stick With Fantasy
My personal preference is to believe in the magical unicorn, with its healing powers and capacity for joy. They can be more colors than white now, and some even have wings – at least that’s what I’m told by those who watch “My Little Pony.”
Magical, benevolent, trying to do good with their healing powers – how can that be anything but The Sunstone Way?
That’s why this year’s 3K that is part of the Irvine Dream Run sponsored by American Lending Center and Sunstone Management is called the Unicorn Run. The double meaning is significant to us, the unicorn magic is significant to everyone.
This year’s run is on April 26 at the Orange County Great Park, and includes a 5K as well as the Unicorn Run 3K. I’m excited to run around that big Orange Balloon with you. Please sign up here.
The unicorn is a force for good – and that’s The Sunstone Way.
Remember, always be a Sunstone (and a unicorn, at least on run day).
John Keisler
CEO & Managing Partner
Sunstone Management, Inc.
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©Sunstone Management, Inc. 2025