Zero to One
Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future
by Peter A. Thiel, Blake Masters · first published 2014
40% recommend56% neutral4% critical
Why HN recommends it
Thiel's case for building a monopoly instead of competing, plus ideas like definite versus indefinite optimism, gives a way to think about startups. Suits engineers and aspiring founders.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
If you want to build a better future, you must believe in secrets. The great secret of our time is that there are still uncharted frontiers to explore and new inventions to create. In Zero to One , legendary entrepreneur and investor Peter Thiel shows how we can find singular ways to create those new things. Thiel begins with the contrarian premise that we live in an age of technological stagnation, even if we’re too distracted by shiny mobile devices to notice. Information technology has improved rapidly, but there is no reason why progress should be limited to computers or Silicon Val
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My current (and favorite so far) read is Zero To One by Peter Thiel. To say that I've enjoyed this book so far would be a vast understatement. Chapter 8 on Secrets is fantastic, and Chapters 3&4 on Competition V. Monopoly was mind blowing. Though chapter…
on “Ask HN: Where to find startup culture? ” ↗For the question "What are some of the best books to learn from that you recommend for a young startup founder?", I decided to transcribe the answers. . "Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future" - http://www.amazon.com/Zero-One-Notes-Startups-Future/dp/0804... "Republic" - http://www.amazon.com/Republic-Hackett-Classics-Plato/dp/087... (classic,…
on “Sam Altman's Twitter AMA” ↗…likely to make you less wealthy, because it leads you to the same behaviors as other people seeking money. You are then competing with them, which lessens your likelihood of success. Read Peter Thiel's Zero to One. He talks about competition vs. monopoly. You want to do things that other people aren't doing. He talks about the Harvard MBA grads who chase the last bubble, i.e. getting your timing exactly wrong.…
on “Beside a startup, what are the other ways to significant wealth for a dev?” ↗I'm also a fan of Zero to One and Thiel's other writings, and not a fan of Trump... To me, it's a reminder that people are complex. Peter Thiel is a remarkably lucid thinker, but he was openly homophobic when he was young, while…
on “Peter Thiel will speak at GOP convention” ↗…similar in many ways (timing, shared economy, disruptive) but radically different in the way they are run. This came out earlier this year and is probably one of the best "startup-books" of 2017! 2. Zero to One (Peter Thiel) -A very short book, a must read for every entrepreneur. Dives into "first principal" thinking & execution. A very good read after/before "Elon Musk" the biography by Ashlee Vance. 3.…
on “Ask HN: Books you wish you had read earlier?” ↗The idea that a startup's end game should be to "build a monopoly" is one of the most profound insights in Thiel's excellent book, Zero to One. This move just deepens YC's monopoly in its domain, as sama would say, "in the Peter Thiel sense."
on “Welcome Peter” ↗> one of the most profound insights in Thiel's excellent book, Zero to One. Which was an insight in Blue Ocean Strategy (Kim & Mauborgne, 2005). And before that, if you squint, in Competitive Strategy (Porter, 1980) and Competitive Advantage (Porter, 1980). And the B-school…
on “Welcome Peter” ↗Read Paul Graham's essays, Start Small Stay Small, personal MBA, Lean Startup, Zero to One by Peter Thiel, 5 hour Workweek, Rework by 37signals. All of these are fantastic reads. In no particular order. Many of them available as audiobooks. If you want to start a startup I would advise you…
on “Ask HN: What to watch after How to Start a Startup?” ↗+1 good comment! I read Thiel's Zero to One book twice, and you might have nailed the reason. BTW, off topic, but this campaign is crazy. I don't like either Clinton or Trump, and have mentioned to friends and family that I will leave the presidential…
on “Peter Thiel’s Embrace of Trump Has Silicon Valley Squirming” ↗…anti-business, and fundamentally absurd. In perfect competition, all profit margins are driven to zero. The only source of profit is barrier to entry. Read Peter Thiel. He talks about this extensively in Zero to One, and he's not some treehugging commie. In this light, regulation isn't an impediment to business - it's an opportunity. By making the task more difficult, we make it more profitable. Now, I'm sure you're…
on “Bullshit jobs and the yoke of managerial feudalism” ↗…Thull's selling approach. The Prime Solution - Jeff Thull - and yet more still on Thull's selling approach. The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail - Clayton Christensen Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future - Peter Thiel, Blake Masters How To Measure Anything - Douglas Hubbard. - Maybe one of the most important books I've ever read. The ideas in this book can…
on “Ask HN: As a technical founder what is the best business book you've read?” ↗Zero to One is my favorite "startup" book, Thiel has a lot of interesting insights and I wish he was a bit more public with his thoughts. Trying to search for Thiel talks online that don't take place during his book…
on “Scott Alexander Reviews Thiel's Zero to One” ↗Thiel isn't at all the cartoon villain he's made out to be. That's just lazy partisan propaganda. Read his book "Zero to One" or watch a few of his interviews for a nuanced perspective.
on “Campaign launches to try to force Palantir out of Britain’s NHS” ↗…Interview preparation (good for breadth, even if you’re not applying for jobs): * Decode & Conquer * Cracking the PM interview Other good books for PMs: * Hooked * The Design of Everyday Things * Zero to One * Traction
on “Getting started in product management? Any recommended books?” ↗If you're interested in thinking more about it, Peter Thiel's Zero to One is a very interesting book. It's certainly not necessarily true that a monopoly ends up providing value like that, but with Google as an example, it's very unlikely they would provide so much open source…
on “Thatcher killed the UK’s superfast broadband before it even existed” ↗