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Peter Thiel

Quotes & Wisdom

Portrait of Peter Thiel, famous for their inspirational quotes and wisdom
Peter Thiel (born 1967)

Peter Thiel is a contrarian entrepreneur, investor, and thinker. He co-founded PayPal, made the first outside investment in Facebook, and built Palantir Technologies. His book Zero to One distills his philosophy: the most valuable companies create new things rather than competing in existing markets.

Thiel's signature question — 'What important truth do very few people agree with you on?' — reflects his belief that the best opportunities hide in ideas the crowd dismisses. He advocates for definite optimism: having a concrete plan for the future rather than relying on incremental improvement.

Every moment in business happens only once. The next Bill Gates will not build an operating system. The next Larry Page or Sergey Brin won't make a search engine. If you are copying these guys, you aren't learning from them.
— Peter Thiel
from Zero to One
What important truth do very few people agree with you on?
— Peter Thiel
from Zero to One
Brilliant thinking is rare, but courage is in even shorter supply than genius.
— Peter Thiel
from Zero to One
The most contrarian thing of all is not to oppose the crowd but to think for yourself.
— Peter Thiel
from Zero to One
Competition is for losers. If you want to create and capture lasting value, build a monopoly.
— Peter Thiel
from Zero to One
Madness is rare in individuals — but in groups, parties, nations, and ages, it is the rule.
— Peter Thiel
from Zero to One
The best entrepreneurs know this: every great business is built around a secret that's hidden from the outside.
— Peter Thiel
from Zero to One

Books by Peter Thiel

Zero to One

Zero to One

2014