Notes after reading the book “Zero to One“.
Zero to One isn’t a book that teaches you how to build a startup. Itβs really more a list of notes on startups and how they create the future (as the title says π).
In my view, itβs not a book that helps startup founders. Itβs rather an interesting read, thatβs it (but that might be enough, right?). I wouldn’t recommend it as a read for founders who are keen to learn how to build their startup, instead, rather as a read to learn about the startup world when they just want to have a good read. Mainly for myself, I collected my top insights, so I can review them later again.
My Top Insights π‘
- Creating truly innovative technology requires progressing from “zero to one” rather than from “one to n.” This means creating something entirely new rather than incrementally adding to what already exists.
- The world needs startups as an engine to both envision and create the future. Though there has been new technology lately, there are still many aspects of everyday life that are begging for improvement, given the right vision and strategy.
- Monopolies generate good for the world. If a business has achieved a monopoly, it indicates that the business has truly gone from “zero to one,” and created something for society that did not exist before or improved upon an existing technology to such a degree that it has made the old technology obsolete.
- Monopolies also generate good for the world because of the privilege that major profits allot. “Since [Google] doesn’t have to worry about competing with anyone, it has wider latitude to care about its workers, its products, and its impact on the wider world.” It also gives a company time and money to try out new things, experiment, and truly innovate.
- To create this sort of change, it is helpful to be a “definite optimist” β someone who believes that “the future will be better than the present if he plans and works to make it better.” This kind of worldview enables the vision, gumption, and persistence to go from zero to one.
- To build one of these “billion-dollar monopoly companies”, you require a product that is 10x better than the current standard. Everything else won’t be interesting enough for the consumer to care about it.
- Rather than initially painting a grandiose vision of global market dominance, the best way to build a monopoly is to start small. Capture a small, specific market with the tentacles to easily branch to related markets over time.
- Know that venture capital firms typically make their money by finding the one single startup that will outperform all their other investments. The bar really is that high for your pitch. That means that if you’re looking for venture capital from a highly reputable VC firm, you need to be able to convince them that you can be the next billion-dollar company. Everything else won’t be interesting for them.
- The foundation you set for your startup is disproportionally important to the success of your company. The most crucial aspects to get right are related to personnel β selecting your co-founder and board, as well as early employees, values, mission, and culture.
- The CEO of a startup should either receive the lowest salary at the company (and set an example of frugality) or the highest salary at the company (setting a maximum compensation), though if high it should be modest. If not, he or she risks getting too comfortable. As a CEO, you can also choose to receive the highest salary, but not make it too high. You can use this to set a maximum for salaries in your company, and keep expenses reasonable.
Conclusion π¨βπ»
The book is all about the next billion-dollar companies. These companies will be crucial for the future of humanity. If you want to build a truly revolutionary company, you need to aim to change the world and build something that is truly new. This way you can achieve a monopoly, which is not a bad thing because it allows you to be innovative and not just focus on short-term results.
To summarize the top insights, I worked with this source after reading the book: https://youexec.com/book-summaries/zero-to-one-by-peter-thiel-and-blake-masters.