Most entrepreneurs don't radically change the world.
Peter Thiel is an exception: co-founder of PayPal, Palantir and Founder's Fund.
He wrote the book on going from 0 to 1.
21 insights from Thiel on how startups can build the future:
Peter Thiel is an exception: co-founder of PayPal, Palantir and Founder's Fund.
He wrote the book on going from 0 to 1.
21 insights from Thiel on how startups can build the future:
A good startup should have the potential for great scale built into its first design.
As a good rule of thumb, proprietary technology must be at least 10 times better than its closest substitute in some important dimension to lead to a real monopolistic advantage.
All happy companies are different: each one earns a monopoly by solving a unique problem.
All failed companies are the same: they failed to escape competition.
All failed companies are the same: they failed to escape competition.
The most contrarian thing of all is not to oppose the crowd but to think for yourself.
Contrarian thinking doesn't make any sense unless the world still has secrets left to give up.
Contrarian thinking doesn't make any sense unless the world still has secrets left to give up.
What valuable company is nobody building?
This question is harder than it looks, because your company could create a lot of value without becoming very valuable itself.
This question is harder than it looks, because your company could create a lot of value without becoming very valuable itself.
If you want to create and capture lasting value, don't build an undifferentiated commodity business.
A company has a monopoly on its own brand by definition, so creating a strong brand is a powerful way to claim a monopoly.
The perfect target market for a startup is a small group of particular people concentrated together and served by few or no competitors.
Any big market is a bad choice, and a big market already served by competing companies is even worse.
Any big market is a bad choice, and a big market already served by competing companies is even worse.
As you craft a plan to expand to adjacent markets, don't disrupt: avoid competition as much as possible.
Making small changes to things that already exist might lead you to a local maximum, but it won't help you find the global maximum.
Every great entrepreneur is first and foremost a designer.
The greatest thing Steve Jobs designed was his business.
The greatest thing Steve Jobs designed was his business.
Forget "minimum viable products" - ever since he started Apple in 1976, Jobs saw that you can change the world through careful planning, not by listening to focus group feedback or copying others' successes.
Every single company in a good venture portfolio must have the potential to succeed at vast scale.
You should focus relentlessly on something you're good at doing, but before that you must think hard about whether it will be valuable in the future.
The most important things are singular:
One market will probably be better than all others...
One distribution strategy usually dominates...
Time and decision-making themselves follow a power law, and some moments matter far more than others.
One market will probably be better than all others...
One distribution strategy usually dominates...
Time and decision-making themselves follow a power law, and some moments matter far more than others.
What's most important is rarely obvious. It might even be secret. But in a power law world, you can't afford not to think hard about where your actions will fall on the curve.
A great company is a conspiracy to change the world; when you share your secret, the recipient becomes a fellow conspirator.
Thiel's Law - a startup messed up at its foundation cannot be fixed.
The most valuable kind of company maintains an openness to invention that is most characteristic of beginnings.
A startup is a team of people on a mission, and a good culture is just what that looks like on the inside.
If you've invented something new but you haven't invented an effective way to sell it, you have a bad business - no matter how good the product.
That's it. Thanks for reading.
If you enjoyed this please retweet so others can benefit too.
Follow me at @bbourque for more on startups and marketing.
If you enjoyed this please retweet so others can benefit too.
Follow me at @bbourque for more on startups and marketing.
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