I also read Zero to One and it is an amazing book, no question about it. But it is also a bit dangerous one, especially if you want to do something yourself.
The more I think about it, the more I feel that many of the greatest companies in this world were started by people just trying stuff, without having this great "leap" idea at the beginning.
For example, Zuckerberg did not want to build an ad machine. Airbnb just wanted to rent out one room. Bezos wanted to sell books. Google wanted to do search differently.
Not really sure how to place OpenAI, but possibly they just went with "let's do some stuff on this LLM." :)
What I am trying to say is that you just need to start something and then something can come out of it and not being paralysed by thinking you need something as amazing as Thiel is suggesting. With hindsight many of the ideas then become 0-1 leaps, but they were probably not intended so at the beginning.
Ah, now I think I need to write about it myself as well! :)
good point - yes - that start part could be a big exxagerated. But i agree that you don't have to have everything worked out before kickstarting your startup. Google was not exactly the first serach engine - they found a way to do it a lot better than Yahoo and others. As for Bezos, it is said that he always had grander ambitions, but started by selling books (also mentioned in Zero to One).
I definitely prefer these shorter entries! I can fit a read in one sitting and let my mind ponder on the topic until the next installment ☺️👍🏼
thanks Itai! Next installment coming this Saturday
I also read Zero to One and it is an amazing book, no question about it. But it is also a bit dangerous one, especially if you want to do something yourself.
The more I think about it, the more I feel that many of the greatest companies in this world were started by people just trying stuff, without having this great "leap" idea at the beginning.
For example, Zuckerberg did not want to build an ad machine. Airbnb just wanted to rent out one room. Bezos wanted to sell books. Google wanted to do search differently.
Not really sure how to place OpenAI, but possibly they just went with "let's do some stuff on this LLM." :)
What I am trying to say is that you just need to start something and then something can come out of it and not being paralysed by thinking you need something as amazing as Thiel is suggesting. With hindsight many of the ideas then become 0-1 leaps, but they were probably not intended so at the beginning.
Ah, now I think I need to write about it myself as well! :)
good point - yes - that start part could be a big exxagerated. But i agree that you don't have to have everything worked out before kickstarting your startup. Google was not exactly the first serach engine - they found a way to do it a lot better than Yahoo and others. As for Bezos, it is said that he always had grander ambitions, but started by selling books (also mentioned in Zero to One).
Can't wait for your article