Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future

Part-time employees
patents
path dependence
PayPal, 
prf.1
, 
2.1
, 
3.1
, 
4.1
, 
4.2
, 
4.3
, 
5.1
, 
5.2
, 
5.3
, 
8.1
, 
9.1
, 
9.2
, 
10.1
, 
10.2
, 
10.3
, 
10.4
, 
11.1
, 
11.2
, 
12.1
, 
12.2
, 
14.1
founders of, 
14.1
future cash flows of
investors in
“PayPal Mafia”
PCs
Pearce, Dave
penicillin
perfect competition, 
3.1
, 
3.2
equilibrium of
Perkins, Tom
perk war
Perot, Ross, 
2.1
, 
12.1
, 
12.2
pessimism

---

Pets.com
, 
,planning, 
politics, 
power law, 
profits, 
progress, 
, 
proprietary technology, 
Rawls, John,recruiting, 

---

recurrent collapse, 
bm1.1
, 
bm1.2
renewable energy industrial index
research and development
resources, 
12.1
, 
bm1.1
restaurants, 
3.1
, 
3.2
, 
5.1
risk
risk aversion
Romeo and Juliet
 (Shakespeare)
Romulus and Remus
Roosevelt, Theodore
Royal Society
Russia
Sacks, David
sales, 
2.1
, 
11.1
, 
13.1
complex
as hidden
to non-customers
personal
Sandberg, Sheryl
San Francisco Bay Area
savings
scale, economies of
Scalia, Antonin
scaling up
scapegoats
Schmidt, Eric
search engines, 
prf.1
, 
3.1
, 
5.1
secrets, 
8.1
, 
13.1
about people
case for
finding of
looking for
using
self-driving cars
service businesses
service economy
Shakespeare, William, 
4.1
, 
7.1
Shark Tank
Sharma, Suvi
Shatner, William
Siebel, Tom

---

Siebel Systems
Silicon Valley, 
1.1
, 
2.1
, 
2.2
, 
2.3
, 
5.1
, 
5.2
, 
6.1
, 
7.1
, 
10.1
, 
11.1
Silver, Nate
Simmons, Russel, 
10.1
, 
14.1
singularity
smartphones, 
1.1
, 
12.1
social entrepreneurship
Social Network, The
social networks, 
prf.1
, 
5.1
Social Security
software engineers
software startups, 
5.1
, 
6.1
solar energy, 
13.1
, 
13.2
, 
13.3
, 
13.4
Solaria
Solyndra, 
13.1
, 
13.2
, 
13.3
, 
13.4
, 
13.5
South Korea
space shuttle
SpaceX, 
prf.1
, 
10.1
, 
11.1
Spears, Britney
SpectraWatt, 
13.1
, 
13.2
Spencer, Herbert, 
6.1
, 
6.2
Square, 
4.1
, 
6.1
Stanford Sleep Clinic
startups, 
prf.1
, 
1.1
, 
5.1
, 
6.1
, 
6.2
, 
7.1
assigning responsibilities in
cash flow at
as cults
disruption by
during dot-com mania
economies of scale and
foundations of
founder’s paradox in
lessons of dot-com mania for
power law in
public relations in
sales and
staff of
target market for
uniform of
venture capital and
steam engine
Stoppelman, Jeremy
string theory

---

strong AI
substitution, complementarity vs.
Suez Canal
tablet computing
technological advance
technology, 
prf.1
, 
1.1
, 
1.2
, 
2.1
, 
2.2
, 
2.3
American fear of
complementarity and
globalization and
proprietary
technology companies
terrorism
Tesla Motors, 
10.1
, 
13.1
, 
13.2
Thailand
Theory of Justice, A
 (Rawls)
Timberlake, Justin
Time
 magazine
Tolkien, J.R.R.
Tolstoy, Leo
Tom Sawyer (char.)
Toyota
Tumblr
27 Club
Twitter, 
5.1
, 
6.1
Uber
Unabomber
VCs, rules of
“veil of ignorance”
venture capital
power law in
venture fund, J-curve of successful, 
7.1
vertical progress
viral marketing
Virgin Atlantic Airways
Virgin Group
Virgin Records
Wagner
Wall Street Journal
Warby Parker

---

Watson
web browsers
Western Union
White, Phil
Wiles, Andrew
Wilson, Andrew
Winehouse, Amy
World Wide Web
Xanadu
X.com
Yahoo!, 
2.1
, 
3.1
, 
3.2
, 
5.1
, 
6.1
Yammer
Yelp
YouTube, 
10.1
, 
12.1
ZocDoc
Zuckerberg, Mark, 
prf.1
, 
5.1
, 
6.1
, 
14.1
Zynga

---

About the Authors
Peter Thiel
is an entrepreneur and investor. He started PayPal in 1998, led it as CEO, and took
it public in 2002, defining a new era of fast and secure online commerce. In 2004 he
made the first outside investment in Facebook, where he serves as a director. The same
year he launched Palantir Technologies, a software company that harnesses computers to
empower human analysts in fields like national security and global finance. He has
provided early funding for LinkedIn, Yelp, and dozens of successful technology startups,
many run by former colleagues who have been dubbed the “PayPal Mafia.” He is a
partner at Founders Fund, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm that has funded
companies like SpaceX and Airbnb. He started the Thiel Fellowship, which ignited a
national debate by encouraging young people to put learning before schooling, and he
leads the Thiel Foundation, which works to advance technological progress and long-
term thinking about the future.
Blake Masters
was a student at Stanford Law School in 2012 when his detailed notes on Peter’s
class “Computer Science 183: Startup” became an internet sensation. He went on to co-
found Judicata, a legal research technology startup.

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Document Outline

• Preface: Zero to One
  • 1 The Challenge of the Future
  • 2 Party Like It’s 1999
  • 3 All Happy Companies Are Different
  • 4 The Ideology of Competition
  • 5 Last Mover Advantage
  • 6 You Are Not a Lottery Ticket
  • 7 Follow the Money
  • 8 Secrets
  • 9 Foundations
  • 10 The Mechanics of Mafia
  • 11 If You Build It, Will They Come?
  • 12 Man and Machine
  • 13 Seeing Green
  • 14 The Founder’s Paradox
• Conclusion: Stagnation or Singularity?
• Acknowledgments
• Illustration Credits
• Index
• About the Authors