zero to one - book summary report

Reid Evans, Tony Jimenez, Corey O’Neal

who is peter thiel?

book highlights

1. what makes a good idea

2. monopolies rock

3. how to build your team

photo: fortune magazine

what important truth do very few people

agree with you on?

the contrarian

photo: fortune magazine

“In a world of scarce resources, globalization

without new technology is unsustainable.”

the contrarian

silicon valley vs. thiel

1. Make Incremental Advances

2. Stay Lean & Flexible

3. Improve on the Competition

4. Focus on product, not sales

Silicon Valley mentality

Financial

Times

Apartmentlist

silicon valley vs. thiel

1. Better to risk boldness than triviality

2. A bad plan is better than no plan

3. Competitive markets destroy profits!

4. Sales matter just as much as product

1. Make Incremental Advances

2. Stay Lean & Flexible

3. Improve on the Competition

4. Focus on product, not sales

Silicon Valley mentality

Peter Thiel mentalityFinancial

Times

Apartmentlist

what valuable company is

nobody building?

The next Mark Zuckerberg isn’t building another

another social network

what is a good idea?...take something from zero to one.

what is a good idea?...take something from zero to one.

1 to n

0 to 1

new productsneed to be at least 10x better than previous

manifestations…

don’t waste time competing with others.

build a monopoly

1. Proprietary technology

2. Network effects

3. Economies of scale

4. Branding

must be able to grow and endure.

what happened to futurism?

to win, have definite optimism.

do something impossible.

start small.

dominate.

diverse skillset, similar approach

diverse skillset, similar approach

why work at [your] startup?

You can do irreplaceable work on a

crazy problem with amazing people

that no one else is going to get done.

sales is as important as product.

You have a bad business

Invented

something newDon’t know how

to sell it

every business must answer:

1. Is it a breakthrough vs. incremental improvement?

1. Is now the right time to start your particular business?

1. Are you starting with a big share of a small market?

1. Do you have the right team?

1. Do you have a way to deliver your product?

discuss.

Photo: The Guardian

If you’re interested MORE

Arts & Ideas at the JCCSF

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYPj0jLzoQw

Original Notes that Formed the Book

http://blakemasters.com/peter-thiels-cs183-startup

Stanford Y-Combinator Startup Class

Lecture 5: Business Strategy and Monopoly Theory

http://startupclass.samaltman.com/courses/lec05/

a16z Podcast: The (Definite) Optimism of Peter Thiel

http://a16z.com/2014/10/17/a16z-podcast-the-definite-optimism-of-peter-

thiel/