Zero to One: Notes on Start Ups, or How to Build the Future

by Blake Masters

successful people find value in unexpected places,

every startup should start with a very small market. Always err on the side of starting too small. The reason is simple: it’s easier to dominate a small market than a large one. If you think your initial market might be too big, it almost certainly is.

Once you create and dominate a niche market, then you should gradually expand into related and slightly broader markets.

how can the future get better if no one plans for it?

And once you think that you’re playing the lottery, you’ve already psychologically

If you think something hard is impossible, you’ll never even start trying to achieve it. Belief in secrets is an effective truth.

Now when I consider investing in a startup, I study the founding teams. Technical abilities and complementary skill sets matter, but how well the founders know each other and how well they work together matter just as much. Founders should share a prehistory before they start a company together—otherwise they’re just rolling dice.

we wanted to get the most valuable users first.