“Every monopoly is unique, but they usually share some combination of the following characteristics: proprietary technology, network effects, economies of scale, and branding.” As you’ll see, he’s describing category kings—the companies that take all the economics out of a category. Thiel goes on to say, “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.” By Thiel’s definition, category kings are the happy companies.
