Book Club: "Zero to One" by Peter Thiel
This book has been on my reading list for quite some time, and I finally got around to buying it a few days ago. Peter Thiel as you probably already know is one of the giants of the silicon valley today. One of the founders of Paypal, Thiel used the money he made off of the sale to become one of the country’s most respected venture capitalists known for being somewhat of a visionary.
I try to always stick to reading authors who have ‘skin in the game’ as Nassim Taleb would say, and Thiel not only fits that maxim but probably defines it. There is so much content out there about starting businesses, and even more professors and consultants who claim to ‘experts’ in business. The problem with the vast majority of these people is that they never have started companies (let alone successful ones) but instead make their living telling other people how to start companies. I have no respect for this people, but that’s a topic for another post :)
Zero to One takes the reader step by step through the bigger picture of starting companies. Thiel spends most of his time discussing the ‘how to’ of starting companies but his thoughts on ‘why should you’ start companies was incredibly profound. Here probably one of the most qualified men to build/invest in companies and he’s sharing his thought process for the cost of a paperback. Amazing stuff.
A big point in the book is the concept of going from 0 to 1, which essentially means creating something that never existed before as opposed to incremental progress on an existing technology. This was a huge point for me and is definitely worth some thought, as most of us go through our lives with our heads to the ground trying to increase our salaries. Thiel encourages thinking for yourself, and transcending the everyday grind to open yourself to the possibility of building something that can change the course of the earth. Now THAT is some powerful stuff, even more so coming from a guy who actually did just that.
One surprise of the book, and a section that really impressed me was the chapter on selling. Thiel hit the nail right on the head with this often totally ignored aspect of tech startups. His main point being that if you started a company, you are not just in the software business, or client business or whatever. You are in sales! He really dissects society (society being nerds who start companies mostly) and it’s view on salespeople as insincere and ultimately talentless beings. You can have the greatest product in the world, but you still need to set up distribution and sell the damn thing or you will. Period. Now there are several different ways to do this according to your size, resources and cost of producing the product. All discussed in a fantastically in depth and thought provoking chapter.
If you’re in the midst of your venture, or still a cubicle dweller wanting to start one this is a great read and certainly has given me lots to think about. Here’s the link.