September 20: Takeaways from Zero to One
Seven takeaways from Peter Thiels' book titled Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future.
Source: Zero to One, by Peter Thiel
Published: September 2014
Takeaways from Zero to One
In 2014 Peter Thiel— the co-founder of PayPal, Palantir, and Founder’s Fund—wrote a book titled Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future. Here are my takeaways:
In the most dysfunctional organizations, signaling that work is being done becomes a better strategy for career advancement than actually doing work (if this describes your company, you should quit now).
Recruiting is a core competency for any company. It should never be outsourced.
A product is viral if its core functionality encourages users to invite their friends to become users too.
The perfect target market for a startup is a small group of particular people concentrated together and served by few or no competitors.
When you start something, the first and most crucial decision you make is whom to start it with. Choosing a co-founder is like getting married, and founder conflict is just as ugly as divorce.
All salesmen are actors: their priority is persuasion, not sincerity.
The most valuable businesses of the coming decades will be built by entrepreneurs who seek to empower people rather than try to make them obsolete.
If "All salesmen are actors: their priority is persuasion, not sincerity." is a serious comment then I hope everyone aligned with this thinking enjoys being part of a toxic culture that deserves to fail. Long-term customer relationships are key to, (especially enterprise) customers & the idea that not being sincere is ok is abhorrent. Sell them something they don't need. Great thinking. Not.
Is this a good thing or no? “A product is viral if its core functionality encourages users to invite their friends to become users too.” Not sure I understand which context the term viral plays in this statement. Viral as in “circulated rapidly and widely from one internet user to another” or Viral as in toxic?