The World's Best Book Summaries
What do Joan Didion, Benjamin Franklin, and Mindy Kaling have in common? What kind of book does Amanda buddy read with her mom? Based on the California coast, Amanda is Shortform’s managing editor. We interviewed her recently to learn a bit about her relationship with books.
Why doesn’t Becky make book recommendations? Whose biography influenced her views about leadership and activism? Based in Pennsylvania, Becky is an editor on Shortform’s writing team. We interviewed her recently to learn a bit about her relationship with books.
Can monopolies be good? What are the advantages of monopolies? According to Peter Thiel, monopoly is better for society. When a business has a monopoly (meaning it faces no significant competition in the market where it operates), it has the freedom to consider the welfare of its employees and the broader impact of its products and operations on society because profits are assured. Here’s why monopoly is better for society, according to Peter Thiel.
What does Peter Thiel mean when he talks about secrets? What does he have to say about monopolies? What’s his “contrarian question”? Zero to One is entrepreneur and venture capitalist Peter Thiel’s unconventional advice for technology startups. Thiel, co-founder of PayPal and the first outside investor in Facebook, argues that technology has stagnated. Most new companies improve incrementally on existing products, but Thiel argues that the most valuable and game-changing startups create something new—they move from “zero to one.” Here are some of the best Zero to One quotes, along with context and explanation.
What happened when the dot-com bubble burst? How did investors react to the crash? When the dot-com bubble burst in 2000, investors became skeptical of any company that had aspirations of shaping the future. And their newfound skepticism became part of the new conventional wisdom. Here’s why that wisdom was misguided, according to Peter Thiel.
Why do we feel compelled to eat the entire serving of lasagna? Why do we like the paint brand that has our favorite baseball player in its commercials? Why do we remember our first kiss better than what happened last week? We’re all prone to cognitive biases—quirks of the mind that distort reality in one way or another. These biases don’t adhere to logic or rational thinking. Our faulty perception gets in the way. We don’t see things as they truly are, and we often act on these misperceptions. We all can benefit from recognizing and understanding these biases. Here’s
What principles are contained in Peter Thiel’s Zero to One? What’s on his checklist for startup success? Some animals have the drive to build things like dams, but only humans have the ability to invent entirely new things. In Zero to One, PayPal co-founder and venture capitalist Peter Thiel contends that creating new things is the best way to profit economically as well as the only path to human progress. Read more for an overview of the book Zero to One by Peter Thiel.
How do you determine your target market as a startup? Should you engage in head-to-head competition? Entrepreneur Peter Thiel offers advice on these and other startup matters in his book Zero to One: Notes on Startups. He shares strategies related to choosing a target market, dealing with competition, and building a monopoly. Continue reading for four startup tips from the book.
What was the dot-com bubble? What can it teach us about tech startups? The dot-com bubble of the 1990s was the biggest bubble since the one ending in the Wall Street crash of 1929. The “lessons” of the dot-com dictate the way we think about tech today. Continue reading for Thiel’s insights on the dot-com bubble and its lessons for entrepreneurs.
What is the power law? How should it influence your planning? The power law is an exponential growth pattern that illustrates how power or size is distributed. The principle has particular application for startups and venture capital, and it can inform investing in general. Keep reading to learn about the power law and how it applies to business and investing.