Strategy & Portfolio
Zero to One
The concept from Peter Thiel's book describing true innovation — creating something genuinely new (0→1) rather than incrementally improving what already exists (1→n).
Zero to One is a concept popularized by Peter Thiel (co-founder of PayPal, first outside investor in Facebook) in his 2014 book of the same name. The idea: copying something that already exists (going from 1 to n) produces incremental change. Creating something genuinely new (going from 0 to 1) produces singular value. Thiel argues that the most valuable companies create monopolies in new markets rather than competing in existing ones. The framework challenges entrepreneurs to ask: 'What important truth do very few people agree with you on?' VCs who subscribe to this worldview prioritize truly novel businesses — new technology, new markets, new business models — over 'better versions' of existing products. Thiel's firm, Founders Fund, has backed SpaceX, Palantir, and other companies embodying this philosophy.