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

by Blake Masters

Monopoly is the condition of every successful business

All happy companies are different: each one earns a monopoly by solving a unique problem. All failed companies are the same: they failed to escape competition.

Sometimes you do have to fight. Where that’s true, you should fight and win. There is no middle ground: either don’t throw any

punches, or strike hard and end it quickly.

“you must study the endgame before everything else.”

Finance epitomizes indefinite thinking because it’s the only way to make money when you have no idea how to create wealth.

Since time is your most valuable asset, it’s odd to spend it working with people who don’t envision any long-term future together. If you can’t count durable relationships among the fruits of your time at work, you haven’t invested your time well—even in purely financial terms.