Publisher's Synopsis
"Of course, it's easier to copy a model than to make something new. Doing what we already know how to do takes the world from 1 to n, adding more of something familiar. But every time we create something new, we go from 0 to 1. The act of creation is singular, as is the moment of creation, and the result is something fresh and strange. Tomorrow's champions will not win by competing ruthlessly in today's marketplace. They will escape competition altogether, because their businesses will be unique".
Thiel's argument is that startups that are aiming to have a big impact need to focus on building the first instance of something - going from 0 to 1. But it's not just startups. Thiel also talks about how HP was successful throughout the 1990s by consistently building important new things - and that their decline started when they stopped inventing.
If you are unfamiliar with Peter Thiel, he's known for co-founding PayPal with Max Levchin, Elon Musk, Steve Chen, Reid Hoffman and other juggernauts in the tech industry. He's also known for launching Clarium Captial and Palantir Technologies, and was an early-stage investor in startups like Facebook, LinkedIn and Tesla. Peter's resume alone is a reason enough to read Innovation Thoughts on Zero to One. However, if Peter authored Innovation Thoughts on Zero to One under a pseudonym, it would still stand as one of the best books about business, creativity, entrepreneurship and technology.
If you are a small startup, large company or thinking about taking the leap to create your own business, this book provides insight. It doesn't matter what industry you align with, whether it be jewelry, tech, finance, advertising or education, Zero to One has relevant advice for you.
