Main Street Portfolios Are Investing in Unicorns - NYTimes.com

Unlikely to end well; also see Fidelity in Talks to Invest in Blue Apron at $2 Billion Valuation (Re/code)

"With Uber now reportedly valued at $50 billion, there are justifiable worries that some private start-up technology companies worth $1 billion or more — known as unicorns — are in bubble territory.

But don’t worry, the thinking goes. Main Street investors won’t get hurt as they did after the dot-com collapse of 2000 because the current crop of highfliers are privately held by expert investors like venture capitalists. So most civilians will be fine should things turn south this time.

Here’s an open secret: That’s fiction."

Main Street Portfolios Are Investing in Unicorns - NYTimes.com