Thiel values the “contrary” and different visions of the mainstream.

If you long to imagine what the future holds, you should be able to see the present critically. Horizontal progress is “going from 1 to n” while vertical progress is “going from 0 to 1”.Īn example of horizontal progress would be the mass production of Tablets and their distribution to developing countries An example of vertical progress would be the launch of the first iPhone, which brought about the smartphone revolution.Īs you can imagine, vertical progress is difficult to predict because you have to imagine something that does not yet exist. Globalization is an example of horizontal progress, as it helps to distribute existing technologies to more and more people around the world.īut vertical progress, however, comes from creating something that did not exist before, as new technology or an extremely efficient method to do something. Horizontal progress comes from expanding existing ideas and innovations and gradually improving these concepts. His own response to the contrarian question is that “most people think the future of the world will be defined by globalization, but the truth is that technology matters more.” “Zero to One Summary”įor many people, the progress that we will have in the future is an interesting subject to think about.Īnd for Thiel, progress can be divided between horizontal progress and vertical progress.

In his book, Zero to One, Thiel shows what it takes to go from Zero to One. Peter Thiel’s contrarian way of thinking helped him invest in some of today’s largest internet companies like Facebook, Airbnb or Spotify. This is the question that PayPal co-founder, Peter Thiel asks his interviewees.įrom the beginning of the book, this brings us a peek into the billionaire investor’s way of thinking. This summary will show you that in a startup, going from “0 to 1” is more important than going “from 1 to n”. Thiel is today one of the most important investors in the world. This summary will enable you to know the philosophy and advice of Peter Thiel, which was documented by one of his students (Blake Masters) in a chair at Stanford college. His unique reasoning for evaluating new business will show you a new perspective on how to set up a startup and be successful. MicroSummary: Peter Thiel founded PayPal and was one of the first to invest in Facebook, making him one of the most influential billionaires in Silicon Valley.

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