“Zero to One” by Peter Thiel

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A start-up is “the minimum number is people needed to make an idea happen”
In business, money is either an important thing or the only thing
- Only monopolies can afford to focus on anything else
Monopolies are our definition of success
In business, status quo is death
Intersectionality is bad for startups
Startups should avoid defining their target market so narrowly as to make them the top player
- (If you, a start-up, will be a top player at launch, then the market must be tiny)
Capitalism and competition are opposites
- “Perfect competition” is communism without the central planning
It is easier to dominate a smaller market
Small does not equal non-existent
Try to avoid disruption because it attracts undue attention and has inherent competition
In an indefinite world, optionality is supreme
“You are not a lottery ticket”
“Leanness is a method, not a goal”
(Be careful to not be so focused on adaptability that you fail to produce anything)
Startups do better the less the CEO is paid
Make your early team as personally similar as possible so they share a similar world vision
Employees fight when they compete over responsibilities
Sales is hidden in every business at every level
A “product so good it sells itself” does not exist
Great companies are more like feudal monarchies than democracies
Complementariness is more powerful than competition

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