Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future

Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future

by Peter Thiel
4.15 (365K)  •  2014

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Spoiler: The author says we should resist labels like “developed” and “developing world” or “first world” and “third world,” because they cause those of us in the so-called developed world to think that we are done developing and that no more innovation is needed. He says there are many secrets left and many innovations to be made. He also asserts that courage is in even shorter supply than genius and urges his audience to be courageous.
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Spoiler: Emphasizing that there is no “pseudoscientific formula” for starting a business, the author says that every moment in business happens only once and that, for example, the next Elon Musk will not start an electric car company. Great businesses are “zero to one,” that is, one of a kind. He says that having the goal to “be rich” or “be an entrepreneur” is not a good way to start a business, but that you become an entrepreneur because you’re working on a problem that nobody else is working on.
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Spoiler: The author explains the title of the book and gives some examples of “zero to one” companies, including PayPal, which he founded. Any company that is copying another company is not a zero to one company and risks failure. He asserts that it’s not always the right thing to start a company but may be a better idea to join an existing company, noting that the 100th person at Google was certainly better off than the founding CEOs of many other companies.

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