Zero to One

What's it about?

Peter Thiel is one of the founders of PayPal and Palantir. He draws from these two experiences, as well as those of his friends, as arguments for his vision of business. The hardest part is going from 0 to 1, not from 1 to n. Thus, by choosing the first path, you create a form of monopoly and avoid competition as much as possible. In (perfect) competition, there's no profit to be made, he says!

What I appreciated

• The use of numerous examples and the honesty to admit that we cannot have a definitive scientific model: each situation varies enough that no generalizable lessons can be drawn.
• A neat quadrant tool: how do we see the future? Not only is it very visual, but Peter also provides examples of business analyses through the lens of this tool.
  • In a definite and optimistic way: Like the US in the 1960s. The future is all laid out. Humanity will end up among the stars with the power of nature at its command. Let's find a way to move in that direction.
  • In a definite and pessimistic way: Like present-day China. The future is dark and full of enemies. We have a precise plan to overcome these difficulties.
  • In an indefinite and optimistic way: Like present-day US. Whatever we do, the future will be better, let's dare anything in any direction!
  • In an indefinite and pessimistic way: Like present-day Europe. The future looks bleak no matter which direction we look. Let's try a bit of everything in the hope that we don't sink, that one of our investments will save the ship.

What I disliked

• His chapter on the founder's personality, centered on Elon Musk, must have seemed brilliant in 2014. Today, Elon Musk's personal impact on his companies' profitability is being questioned. The argument remains, but the example is less compelling.
• After talking a lot about properly defining your market, I think Peter could have given us more tools to help us correctly define ours.
• Everything is viewed from a business perspective. The monopoly/competition duality definitely takes on a different meaning when seen from the perspective of society or citizens. It's relevant for this book, but for me, it encourages short-term thinking, and that displeases me. I have only one way to prove him wrong, but even if I succeed, it will take decades!

Some gems

Duality between entrepreneurship and having a social project

Social entrepreneurs aim to combine the best of both approaches by "doing well by doing good." Typically, they achieve neither.

The ambiguity between social and financial goals doesn't help. The ambiguity of the word "social" itself is problematic: if something is socially good, is it good for society, or is it enough to be perceived as doing good?

This was a real wake-up call for me. Having a mission is great, but you must not lose sight of the financial aspect of a business and justify its mission with a financial return. It's not necessarily incompatible. Tomorrow (Cyril Dion, Mélanie Laurent) shows companies that have chosen resilience over growth. Financial goals thus remain at the heart of the project.