Zero to One in a nutshell: Peter Thiel's winning vision

Billionaire entrepreneur Peter Thiel believes that the best companies don’t compete. They monopolize. A surefire recipe for success is finding the greatest idea nobody has ever thought of, then dominating the market for it.

The future belongs to those who try the un-tried. If you’re emulating the greats, you aren’t learning from them. You’re just extending their achievement. Creating something new means moving from nothing to something. That’s what moves us forward.

Competition is an ideology that harms society. Horizontal progress is taking one existing idea or object and trying to make it work everywhere. Vertical progress represents true innovation. It requires doing something nobody else has done before.

A “creative” monopoly creates new products that benefit consumers while making sustainable profits. A competitive market means no profits for anyone, little product differentiation, and mass struggle for company survival.

Companies that can monopolize follow a mix of four principles. #1: Their technology is at least 10 times better than nearest rival. #2: They’ve created something that will become more useful and valuable the more people use it (e.g. Facebook).

#3: They get stronger as they get bigger, with fixed production costs easily spread out as sales increase. #4: They have a strong brand that acts as a potent claim to their monopoly.

Every successful idea around today was once unknown and unfamiliar. Ask yourself: ‘What valuable company is no one building?’ Every good answer to this question involves a secret. It’s a mistake to assume there are none left.

Every business must answer seven questions in order to succeed. #1: Can you create breakthrough technology instead of incremental improvements? #2: Is now the right time to start your business? #3: Are you starting with a big share of a small market?

#4: Do you have the right team? #5: Do you have the means to actually deliver your product? #6: Will your market position be defensible 10 years into the future? #7: Have you identified a unique opportunity that other people haven’t seen?

A great company aims to change the world. There are plenty of secrets out there that can transform lives for the better (and make you rich). This is all you need to go find yours.