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Zero to One:
Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future
by Peter Thiel with Blake Masters
c.2014, Crown Business
$27.00 / $32.00 Canada
224 pages
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
The Truth Contributor
The thought pops into your head at least four times per
weekday: I can do this.
You can give good customer service; you do it every day.
You’re good with numbers and people. You have more know-how
than you know what to do with, and you can do this –
on your own, for your own passion.
So you’re thinking of stepping out, going it alone, and
founding a start-up. But before you close one door to open
another, read Zero to One by Peter Thiel (with
Blake Masters).
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How does a business thrive?
It’s a question you’ve asked yourself while you’re thinking
about your start-up. How can your business get a leg-up on
success? The answer, says Thiel, is that it can’t… unless it
invests “in the difficult task of creating new things…” The
way to do that is not with a Me-Too business, but with
technology, which is “miraculous.”
Think about it: since mid-20th century, “only
computers and communications have improved dramatically….”
While there’s a lot of conflicting tenets in business, one
key to building a “valuable company” is to figure out what
nobody is doing, and do it. Another key is to create a
monopoly, but not the illegal kind. Instead, you want “the
kind of company that’s so good at what it does that no other
firm can offer a close substitute.” That is the mark of a
successful business but, to achieve it, you must know what a
good one looks like. Then, start small and scale up
carefully.
Don’t underestimate the competition, but don’t pay it too
much heed, either; the danger is that competition “can make
people hallucinate opportunities where none exist.” When
founding your start-up, hire people who enjoy working
together – people you like, and that are alike in their
interests. Much like a marriage, pick partners and board
members carefully. Ward off instability by establishing who
owns the company, who runs it, and who governs it. Know how
to quash competition within your workplace. Remember
that you are a salesman. And then start looking for secrets.
They’re everywhere, and they’ll be the basis of your new
business…
Just before you open the cover of Zero to One, have a
baseball glove ready. There’s a lot of info lobbed at you
here – fast – and you’ll want to catch every bit of it.
The interesting thing, however, is that this isn’t so much a
book of advice as it is a book of thought-pokers. Building a
successful start-up is not to be taken lightly, as author
and PayPal founder Peter Thiel (with Blake Masters) subtly
warns. There are dozens of things to understand, pitfalls to
avoid, boxes to check when founding a business, and the
authors don’t mince words when discussing them. That kind of
caution – a demand to think first - is invaluable for
all future moguls.
And if that’s where your aim lies, then this book will give
you plenty to ponder. Just clear your calendar a bit, and
grab Zero to One because you can do it. |
