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

Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future is a book by Peter Thiel and Blake Masters, published in 2014. This Waffle podcast explores the book across 4 episodes.

In Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future, Peter Thiel, writing with Blake Masters, argues that lasting progress comes from creating something new rather than copying what already works. The series follows his progression from the dot-com boom and the traps of competition to creative monopoly, durable advantage, deliberate planning, power-law returns, and the search for secrets. It then examines founding teams, incentives, company culture, distribution, and human–computer collaboration before testing those ideas against cleantech failures, Tesla’s strategy, and the promise and dangers of exceptional founders. Listeners will understand how Thiel connects the practical choices of building a distinctive company to his larger claim that a better future must be deliberately created rather than assumed.

These episodes are AI-generated adaptations grounded in the book. Listen to the first episode here and continue the series in the Waffle app.