Reddit mentions of Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future

Impossible to name one. Books only had significance for me when they addressed a particular lifecycle that the business was in.

• Zero to One, when I needed the extra push to quit my job and focus on my new business full time.
  
  
• Walt Disney’s biography, when I was in the grind, feeling sorry for myself.
  
  
• Crossing the Chasm, when we needed to operationalize the business to scale.
  
  
• The Hard Thing About Hard Things, when I needed to fire our first VP.
  
  
• Only the Paranoid Survive, when I needed to learn how to disrupt myself.
  
  EDIT: Lots of requests for more books as they relate to 'business lifecycle'. Also, linked all of these on Amazon. Here ya go:
  
  
• Blue Ocean Strategy, when we realized positioning ourselves as a competitor to others was the wrong approach
  
  
• Your Strategy Needs a Strategy, when planning things out years in advance kept us committed to the wrong plan for too long.
  
  
• Accounting for Non-Accountants, when I was just getting started and needed to learn how to read a financial statement :)
  
  
• The Art of Acting, when I needed to give a convincing presentation for the first time.
  
  
• Co-Active Coaching, when I needed to learn how to actively listen to employees (this lead to me becoming an executive coach).
  
  
• Understanding Michael Porter, a master class on business strategy.

I mean...I don't know how quick you want things to happen? This company went from 200m @ IPO to 10bn rev in 6yr, which is the fastest company in history save for GOOGL (5yr). Tied with FB. Beats AMZN (7 I think), BABA, MSFT (all those around 8-9) They grew in revenue as fast as a dude who monetized half the world in ~8 years (our man zuck)

I'll only defend myself with some food for thought. I'll re-hash these points once in awhile, I can't help it.

Profit point has been hit for auto mfg for a couple years, but everything else has been capex and R&D which, in mfg is huge -- (TSLA is the only mfg example of the aforementioned tech platforms...mfg has high capex and tech has R&D. Double whammy of expensive thangs)

They are hyperspending while other auto mfgs are avoiding the elephant by putting half-assed efforts and retaining stale assets. They have to create a tesla-esque-or-better-2025 plant while still showing profit (to please shareholders) on an already razor-thin margin. If they aren't doing the definition of kicking the can down the road ...well, godspeed. Added bonus: they're literally paying a dividend to shareholders instead of investing in EV infrastructure. Why? Because the board & CEO are old as fuck and think short-term politics is a good thing.. "Fuck that, I'm retiring in 5 years, funnel money out of the pensions and get me the fuck outta here."

(Existing PPOE of a car mfg is a technologically stale asset. To re-adjust for the EV revolution -- which is 100% happening -- is ungodly expensive)

As odd as it sounds, seeking a profit on TSLA's balance sheet at this stage is penny-wise, dollar stupid. Much like amazon and most other tech companies, the shit you do in the early stages really fucking pays off later. But much like amzn pre-profit...it was always there, but it was just immediately spent on R&D & infrastructure rather than cash hoarding and dividends (lol)

You should check out this book:

http://www.amazon.com/Zero-One-Notes-Start-Future-ebook/dp/B00J6YBOFQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1414433748&sr=1-1&keywords=zero+to+one

It's only partly about startups. A lot is general and philosophical. I wouldn't say I agree completely with everything, but I have seldom read a business book that I agreed with more.

Among the things I agree with are Peter's comments about what happened culturally in the 70s. I've personally believed this for years, and when I saw him start talking the same way I was very encouraged. Now I hear more and more people talking about this issue, and it's got me hopeful that we can dethrone the cultural hegemony of the reactionary baby boomers in my lifetime.

BTW... on IT having been the exception... imagine if energy, transportation, medicine, etc. had been advancing at the same rate as information technology for the past 40 years... wow. We really would not be having these discussions about an "energy problem." Instead we'd be discussing how new political experiments in the Martian colonies might affect things here at home.

Your link is kinda funky, here's a better one: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00J6YBOFQ?btkr=1

This one is about creating start ups. It is called Zero to One.

To be honest, I really have not read many books. This is something that has been off and on the past couple of years. I really haven't finished many books. I know that sounds really sad. I can't even remember the last book I really read cover to cover. So I am having a hard time answering the top three books. Sorry! I know that makes it hard to make recommendations to someone that just started reading.

I'm looking at getting into real estate. I think i'm going to lean towards books about that to further my education on the topic. I am going to create a list of recommendations that you guys give. I will tackle it!

> You’re suffering from something called impostor syndrome, which is something many successful people have. No matter how good you are and how far you come, you still feel like it’s a mistake and you aren’t worthy.

You know, that really puts things into perspective for me. I've recently had an interview and just looking at my resume you can see I'm very successful; I have a patent pending, ivy education, and president of some things which their contributions have seen positive attention from media.

The interviewer asked me the following question:

> What is an achievement that you are particularly proud of?

There was a long pause, and she was surprised. I could objectively see why, but I wanted to be honest--so I thought about it. I don't really feel that way. In the end, I answered something along the lines of being able to create something out of nothing, which is something that few people seem to be able to do. Zero to One by Peter Thiel is a book that kind of puts this idea into perspective. Honestly though, I still feel like I could do better and I feel like I've made far too many mistakes that I shouldn't have made in the past.

Apply for a job at our company :) DM for details

Or, if you go solo, try to create a product that generates at least $10 a day in revenue. Like /u/enantiodromia said in another post:

> Software helps normal people get early wins, which keeps them motivated, which keeps them interested enough to keep trying.

It was in a different context, but the idea's the same. You need an early win. Mixed In Key was my early win. It gave me the strength to keep going. I recommend a book called Zero to One, it might be relevant for what you're asking about:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00J6YBOFQ/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1