Zero-to-One: Post #6--Monopoly Secret

The Monopoly Secret. Competition and capitalism are opposites. “A great company is a conspiracy to change the world.”  The author warns being careful about who you tell your secret to…because mankind has always been unkind to people who expose their forward thinking to the world. Also, remember Thiel’s Law: “A startup mess up at its foundation cannot be fixed.” Bad partners in the beginning can haunt you forever. Carefully study “founding teams” before making investments into their company. For example, such teams should share a “prehistory” before starting a company; otherwise, it’s like investing in a blind date. However, you can’t go from Zero to One without a team. He distinguishes between ownership (who owns the company), possession (who runs it), and control (who governs it).