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  • Zero to One

  • Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future
  • Written by: Peter Thiel, Blake Masters
  • Narrated by: Blake Masters
  • Length: 4 hrs and 50 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (973 ratings)

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Zero to One cover art

Zero to One

Written by: Peter Thiel,Blake Masters
Narrated by: Blake Masters
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Publisher's Summary

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER“This book delivers completely new and refreshing ideas on how to create value in the world.”—Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta

“Peter Thiel has built multiple breakthrough companies, and Zero to One shows how.”—Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla

The great secret of our time is that there are still uncharted frontiers to explore and new inventions to create. In Zero to One, legendary entrepreneur and investor Peter Thiel shows how we can find singular ways to create those new things.

Thiel begins with the contrarian premise that we live in an age of technological stagnation, even if we’re too distracted by shiny mobile devices to notice. Information technology has improved rapidly, but there is no reason why progress should be limited to computers or Silicon Valley. Progress can be achieved in any industry or area of business. It comes from the most important skill that every leader must master: learning to think for yourself.

Doing what someone else already knows how to do takes the world from 1 to n, adding more of something familiar. But when you do something new, you go from 0 to 1. The next Bill Gates will not build an operating system. The next Larry Page or Sergey Brin won’t make a search engine. Tomorrow’s champions will not win by competing ruthlessly in today’s marketplace. They will escape competition altogether, because their businesses will be unique.

Zero to One presents at once an optimistic view of the future of progress in America and a new way of thinking about innovation: it starts by learning to ask the questions that lead you to find value in unexpected places.

©2014 Peter Thiel (P)2014 Random House Audio

What the critics say

“Crisply written, rational and practical, Zero to One should be read not just by aspiring entrepreneurs but by anyone seeking a thoughtful alternative to the current pervasive gloom about the prospects for the world.” The Economist

"An extended polemic against stagnation, convention, and uninspired thinking. What Thiel is after is the revitalization of imagination and invention writ large…." – The New Republic

"Might be the best business book I've read...Barely 200 pages long and well lit by clear prose and pithy aphorisms, Thiel has written a perfectly tweetable treatise and a relentlessly thought-provoking handbook." – Derek Thompson, The Atlantic

What listeners say about Zero to One

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Excellent book for Entrepreneurs

Loved this book.
Tells you to create something new instead of competing
In a race to the bottom.
Similar to blue ocean strategy, but really gets into details on the problems that need solving and pitfalls to avoid.
Starting my third listen shortly.

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4 people found this helpful

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So poor in every way

Disappointed
The content was weak, insights were old and rehashed. No evidence but supported by anecdotes. Better suited to People magazine.
The narrator is so flat and has no understanding of what he’s reading. It detracts further as he doesn’t get phrasing or terminology and what should be emphasized.

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3 people found this helpful

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Redefines your view of the world

I was captivated by this lecture.
it changed the way I see buisness, not like all the others self help books, more of a lesson on buisness mentality and inside view from large companies, I recomend it.

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2 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars

monotonous narrator but insightful content

monotonous narrator but insightful content. The narrator is reading out loud instead of telling a story. The writing is smart, thoughtful and concise

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Amazing! I will probably listen 5x more

An amazing book. Even better listening directly from them. If your in any sort of business I highly recommend you listen to this!

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Well written and full of examples

Good examples all throughout the book. The narration could have been more lively and with expression.

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"Pretty good"

Good:
- Overall, I found myself agreeing with most of what was said, and I think his final thesis (summarized in a checklist at the end) is sound.

Bad:
- Much of the content swayed into macro economic theory, and at times, even philosophy. While this was interesting whilst reading, I didn't take much away from these discussions.
- At times, it feels more like a guide to other venture capitalists, or for serial entrepreneurs wondering about what to build next

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Concise

I’d no idea before beginning this book just how clear and to the point each salient insight from Mr. Thiel would be; if I did, I’d have already read several times since it’s publication.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Great read!

This book gives some very good lessons to take and apply to your business immediately. I will be re reading this one in the future!

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Amazing

Coming out of this on a brand new perspective on product value and a Complete paradigm shift. Amazing

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