How to create the future: “Zero to One” by Peter Thiel

Filippo Ravedoni
Jul 28, 2017 · 4 min read
by Filippo Ravedoni

That’s Peter Thiel co-founder of PayPall and Palantir. He is just 49 years old but he has been in the game long enough to know every secret on how to grow a successful business and he’s willing to share it with us in his last bestseller “Zero to One”.

Small book (less the 200 pages), really easy to read and understand. It shares Thiel’s philosophy on how the market works and what a business must do and be to call itself successful. This philosophy is not shared by everyone in the entrepreneurial landscape but it is a valuable one if you want to become the next Mark Zuckerberg or the next Steve Jobs(if you wanna go deeper in the theme check out Any Rand).


What is it about?

This book is about entrepreneurs and his view on startups and businesses that is really elitary. Here you will find all the “secrets” to build the next Facebook or Uber, every little detail is in this book besides one thing: the actual business. What this book really give you is a business model that you can realy to and on which you can structure yours. Let me tell you, everything seems really easy and immediate evenwhen it’s not so don’t let him trick you.

What does 0 to 1 mean?

Zero to One is not only the title of the book but the main thesis itself. What Thiel means with this is that the future he wants to build is not a flat one, instead he hopes you are gonna discover new and new thing that can change and better everyones life. He wants a future of innovation and technology.

Why difference is key?

Throughout the book he states multiple times that differences are essential to create a unique product and culture. All business are different because they have different interests, markets and people. The one thing that makes the biggest difference most of the times is the founder/CEO. Just think about a few names like Steve Jobs, Richard Branson or Jeff Bezos, they are the ones that shape the all company and create a culture then shared by everyone.

How not to die the first two years?

As you know most of the startups, usually 9/10, die the before the first two years; have you ever asked yourself why? The major reason is that they don’t have great foundations, or they totally miss. Before starting is necessary to have a great team of people, have a good idea (or a secret) and have a clear and definite image of what the future should look like. Then you will face undreds of other problems but at least you will not wind up in the cemetery of startups.

Be a creative monopoly

This is actually unsual to say because a monopoly most of the times is seen as something negative. A monopoly happens when a company doesn’t have any competition so it has the control over a specific market or product, in this way they can lower or higher the prices as they like. For Peter Thiel being a monopoly is the only solution to avoid the mayhem of a market where perfect competition rules. In this way the company can put its attention not on the others but on itself and its products bettering them and making its clients more satisfied.


IMO: I think that this book is a really compact and useful piece of content about startups. In a way it describes also how big companies like Facebook or Apple started and continue to be. Some ides he shares are actually “not very nice”, let me explain. For example, being a monopoly might seem really good for your own company but eliminating the competition and have all the power and revenue doesn’t mean you will improve it or give more attention to your costumers, so I think it is risky to let someone have all the power.

There are always positive and negative aspects about any topic so just pay attention and find them, then make your own opinion!

Hope you enjoyed the review, tell me what you think about this topic…

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