Zero to One Book Summary - Zero to One Book explained in key points

Zero to One summary

Name: Zero to One
Rating: 4.4 (855 reviews)
Author: Peter Thiel with Blake Masters

Peter Thiel with Blake Masters

Notes on Startups, or How to Build The Future

Listen to the first key idea

Key idea 1 of 10

00:00

4.4 (855 ratings)

22 mins

10 key ideas

Audio & text

What is Zero to One about?

Zero to One explores how companies can better predict the future and take action to ensure that their startup is a success. The author enlivens the book’s key takeaways with his own personal experiences.

About the Author

Peter Thiel is a co-founder of PayPal and one of the most prominent venture capitalists in the world. He was the first outsider to invest in Facebook, and he manages Founders Fund’s $2 billion assets.

Table of Contents

Key idea 1 of 10

To imagine what progress the future will bring, you must be able to view the present differently.

Try to imagine the world in the year 2100. What do you see? For most people, the future is a tantalizing topic to think about.

But what do we really mean when we talk about the future?

Clearly, we don’t just think of the passage of time, but the progress made during that time. This progress, that is, the differences from the present, is what really defines the future.

More specifically, it can be divided into horizontal and vertical progress:

Horizontal progress comes from expanding on existing ideas and innovations. Here, globalization is a common driver because it helps spread existing ideas to more people.

Vertical progress, however, comes from creating something new that didn’t exist before, like a new technology or method.

Put another way, horizontal progress is going from one to n whereas vertical progress is going from zero to one.

An example of horizontal progress would be mass-producing phones and distributing them to developing countries; an example of vertical progress would be building a smartphone from a regular one.

As you can imagine, vertical progress is hard to predict because you have to imagine something that doesn’t exist yet. That’s why you can only predict future progress if you’re able to see the present differently.

After all, the future is by definition different from the present, so to imagine it you can’t just focus on the status quo. If you want to imagine what the future holds, you must be able to view the present critically.

The author believes that this is such a crucial ability that, in job interviews, he asks candidates, “What important truth do very few people agree with you on?” Why? Because only a person who can think outside established conventions can see and change the future.

Be the architect of your own future and make a focused effort to attain it.

So how can you prepare for the different and unknown circumstances that await you in the future?

Today, many people think indefinitely – that is, they try to prepare themselves for all possible future events. This approach is futile, however, because the future holds far too many unknowns and variables.

Monopolies are good for businesses and society: they mean you’re doing something better than everyone else.

When people hear the word “monopoly,” they tend to think of large, evil companies unfairly squeezing out the competition. This is inaccurate.

Conventional wisdom holds that competition is the ideal economic stimulus, encouraging companies to improve on each others’ products. However, it’s actually monopolies that drive innovation.

Monopolies thrive thanks to technological advantages, network effects, economies of scale and great branding.

So what exactly makes monopolies so successful? Typically, monopolies share some combination of four beneficial characteristics:

First, they have a technological advantage: their proprietary technology works much better than anyone else’s – usually, at least ten times better. Google’s search algorithms, for example, are much faster and have better predictive power than anyone else’s, which makes it very difficult for a competitor to supplant them.

Successful companies need to chase secrets others cannot copy.

In today’s high-tech world, it’s tempting to think that there’s no more room for vertical progress or that there aren’t any new ideas to be had. But this is a dangerous misconception that can keep you from being successful.

In fact, the world still has plenty of secrets – that is, things that are important but which most people don’t know about or agree with. This makes them hard – but not impossible – to discover. Often, the secrets are so deeply embedded in society that it might take generations to discover them.

Building a successful, profitable company takes years of work.

As stated in a previous blink, we tend to think of monopolies as behemoths towering over their competitors. But, of course, they don’t start out that way: building a successful monopoly takes time.

This is especially true when it comes to profits: it can take years for a start-up to become profitable. But even if the company doesn’t initially make profits, it can still have value, because value is determined by the profits it will make over its entire lifespan.

Start-ups need a solid foundation: the right people and culture, and balanced owner interests.

Every company needs to lay a solid foundation to survive in the long run. So when you start out on the long road of building up a business, the first days are absolutely crucial.

The first key component in this foundation is finding the right people. Typically, start-ups are so small that every single person on the team plays an important role.

Your products will never sell themselves: your team needs to do that.

When most people hear the word “salesperson,” they think of a man in a cheap suit going door to door hawking vacuum cleaners: not a very flattering image.

But in business, sales is a vital necessity. Many people, especially those enthusiastic about technology, would prefer to focus on product innovation, but innovative products are worthless unless they’re sold. And there’s no product on earth that people will buy without you selling it.

Many cleantech companies failed because they did not consider the seven critical questions every business must answer.

Between 2005 and 2009, an investment bubble was at its height in Silicon Valley. The underlying industry was clean technology, or cleantech, which encompasses products and services that promote things like the sustainable use of natural resources and the use of renewable energy sources.

Thousands of companies had been started in the industry, financed by over $50 billion in investments. Unfortunately, since then many companies have failed, taking the investors’ money with them.

Founders tend to be oddballs, but their vision is crucial for any company.

What do you think a typical start-up founder looks like?

Across the board, founders tend to be slightly strange, especially founders of successful companies. Whether they’ve been a bit off since birth or have become that way to emulate past great founders, almost every successful founder is somewhat . . . unusual.

Want to see all full key ideas from Zero to One?

Key ideas in Zero to One

More knowledge in less time

Read or listen

Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.

Find your next read

Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.

Shortcasts ^New

We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.

Who should read Zero to One

Current and potential startup founders
Investors
Anyone interested in why certain startups succeed and others fail

Categories with Zero to One

Entrepreneurship Management & Leadership

Books like Zero to One

Build

Tony Fadell

An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making

Lessons on Thinking Big, Chasing Dreams, and Building Community

Reflections on Life, 50 Years in Venture Capital, and Never Driving Alone

What Data Reveals About Billion-Dollar Startups

Surprising Truths from the World's Most Successful Entrepreneurs

A New Roadmap for Entrepreneurial Success

24 min

4.4

The Entrepreneur's Weekly Nietzsche

Dave Jilk and Brad Feld

A Book for Disruptors

21 min

4.0

Rapid Growth, Done Right

Val Wright

Lead, Influence and Innovate for Success

Building an Unbeatable Business One Crazy Idea at a Time

How to Go from Idea to Done

19 min

4.6

What our members say

Sven O.

It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.

Thi Viet Quynh N.

Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.

Jonathan A.

Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.

Renee D.

Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.

Start growing with Blinkist now

25 Million

Downloads on all platforms

4.7 Stars

Average ratings on iOS and Google Play

91%

Of Blinkist members create a better reading habit*

*Based on survey data from Blinkist customers

Powerful ideas from top nonfiction

Try Blinkist to get the key ideas from 5,500+ bestselling nonfiction titles and podcasts. Listen or read in just 15 minutes.

Start your free trial

Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club

by Robin Sharma

Zero to One summary

Listen to the first key idea

What is Zero to One about?

About the Author

To imagine what progress the future will bring, you must be able to view the present differently.

Be the architect of your own future and make a focused effort to attain it.

Monopolies are good for businesses and society: they mean you’re doing something better than everyone else.

Monopolies thrive thanks to technological advantages, network effects, economies of scale and great branding.

Successful companies need to chase secrets others cannot copy.

Building a successful, profitable company takes years of work.

Start-ups need a solid foundation: the right people and culture, and balanced owner interests.

Your products will never sell themselves: your team needs to do that.

Many cleantech companies failed because they did not consider the seven critical questions every business must answer.

Founders tend to be oddballs, but their vision is crucial for any company.

Key ideas in Zero to One

To imagine what progress the future will bring, you must be able to view the present differently.

Be the architect of your own future and make a focused effort to attain it.

Monopolies are good for businesses and society: they mean you’re doing something better than everyone else.

Monopolies thrive thanks to technological advantages, network effects, economies of scale and great branding.

Successful companies need to chase secrets others cannot copy.

Building a successful, profitable company takes years of work.

Start-ups need a solid foundation: the right people and culture, and balanced owner interests.

Your products will never sell themselves: your team needs to do that.

Many cleantech companies failed because they did not consider the seven critical questions every business must answer.

Founders tend to be oddballs, but their vision is crucial for any company.

Who should read Zero to One

Categories with Zero to One

Books like Zero to One

What our members say

Discover the Blinkist catalogue

Popular titles

Most popular categories

Trending Collections