Book Review: Zero to One – Peter Thiel

A book by PayPal co-founder and Facebook early investor

If I say this is the best business book I’ve ever read, I may be right, and I may be wrong. But, the most important thing is that Zero to One is among the best business books I’ve ever read.

In Zero to One, Peter Thiel talked about everything every start-up should know in just 14 chapters. This 160-page book uses concepts from physics, biology, and other fields to explain business growth.

“Every moment in business happens only once.” “The next Bill Gates will not build an operating system. The next Mark Zuckerberg won’t create a social network. If you are copying these guys, you are not learning from them.” Those are the first statements you will find in Zero to One.

Beyond startups, this is a book for every business leader. The concept of the book which is also the title is that moving from nothing to something is a vertical growth. However, moving from something to another is rather a horizontal progress. In real terms, 0 as a number means nothing. Rising from that point of nothingness to substance which is 1 takes effort. From 1, you can move to 2, 3...which Thiel describes as “n.” However, you are not progressing upward; it’s a mere horizontal improvement.

Think about the most pressing issues in today’s business landscape, and Thiel got an answer or clue for each. He succinctly made known his optimism for the future as regard AI (Artificial Intelligence). To him, computers will never replace humans; they are complimentary tools that make humans work faster, better, and more effectively. He made an example of his time at PayPal when they devised a new means of limiting scammers’ activities by complementing man and machine.

If you read between the lines in tech, business, and energy, sustainability is one of the major discussions. Clean tech makes headlines quite frequently. Thiel noted that energy startups are failing because they are not honest with what their market is. He made a comparison between Solyndra and Tesla. The first is a failed company; the latter is a thriving venture creating its own industry.

There are lots to learn from this book than I can compile in a review.

It’s easy to say I recommend it for business-minded individuals. But, this is highly recommended for those who want to grow from nothingness to substance. This is a book for those who have enjoyed massive success but still want to create new and interesting things for themselves and the people they will never be able to reach.