Today I started and finished "Zero to One: Notes on startups, or How to Build the Future" by Peter Thiel and Blake Masters. As the book is very well structures and has several schematics and graphs I took a a couple of notes which I decided to share here and on my blog in order to invite people to comment on them. This summary reflects the main points that were interesting for me and should not be seen as a complete summary of the book.

1. Zero to One
by Peter Thiel & Blake Masters
Resume of the book graphs @stefania_druga

2. Technology vs Globalization
Vertical
intensive
progress
Horizontal
extensive progress
globalization (1 to n)
technology (0 to 1)

3. Perception: firms are similar
Perfect
competition
Monopoly
Firm
A
Firm
B

4. Reality: differences are deep
Perfect
competition
Monopoly
Firm
A
Firm
B

5. Square payment copycats
for mobile credit card readers
Square
original solution
2010
NetSecure Intuit Paypal

6. U.S.,
1950s-1960s
U.S.,
1982-present
China,
present
Europe,
present
World view of the future
Definite Indefinite
Optimistic
Pessimistic

7. U.S.,
1950s-1960s
U.S.,
1982-present
China,
present
Europe,
present
World view of the future
Definite Indefinite
Optimistic
Pessimistic
Investments
Savings
High
High
Low
Low

8. Hegel,
Marx
Nozick,
Rawls
Plato,
Aristotle
Epicurus,
Lucretius
Philosophy view of the future
Definite Indefinite
Optimistic
Pessimistic

9. Secrets
Conventions Secrets Mysteries
Easy Hard Impossible

10. Mafia mechanisms
0 to 1
Consultants
(nihilism)
Cults
(dogmatism)

11. How to sell your product ?
Dead zone
Viral Marketing Sales Complex
Sales
1 $ 100 $ 10.000 $ 10 mil $
Consumer SME Big Gov & corp

12. Substitution:
“The world is
flat”
Mimetic
consumer
competition
Mostly
complementary
Machines
don’t demand:
all value goes
to people
Supply
(of labor)
Demand
(for resources)
Globalization
(other humans)
Technology
(better computers)
Future of work ?

13. 1. The Engineering question: Can you create breakthrough technology instead of incremental
improvements?
2. The Timing question: Is now the right time to start your particular business?
3. The monopoly question: Are starting with a big share from a small market?
4. The people question: Do you have the right team?
5. The distribution question: Do you have a way to deliver your product?
6. The durability question: Will your market position be defensible 10 and 20 years into the future?
7. The secret question: Have you identified an unique opportunity that others don't see?
7 questions every business should answer

14. Uncontrollable organisms Perfectly determined code
Poorly understood, naturally Well understood, artificial
Indefinite, random Definite, engineering
Heavily regulated Basically unregulated
Expensive (>$1BN per drug) Cheap (a little seed money)
High-salaried, unaligned lab drones Committed entrepreneurial hackers
Indefinite vs Definite Optimism for startups
Biotech Startups Software startups
Subject
Environment
Approach
Regulation
Cost
Team

15. People normal distribution of traits
frequency
averageweak/nerd
idiot savant
disagreeable
outsider
poor
infamous
strong/athlete
polymath
charismatic
insider
rich
famous

16. Founders distribution of traits
frequency
averageweak/nerd
idiot savant
disagreeable
outsider
poor
infamous
strong/athlete
polymath
charismatic
insider
rich
famous

17. actually
different
others
exaggerate
they
exaggerate
develop
extreme traits
Explanation Founders distribution of traits

18. Four scenarios for the future:
• recurrent collapse
• plateau
• extinction
• takeoff
Conclusion: Stagnation vs Singularity