Competition is for Losers with Peter Thiel (How to Start a Startup 2014: 5)
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- čas přidán 28. 06. 2024
- Lecture Transcript: www.tech.genius.com/Peter-thie...
Peter Thiel, founder of Paypal and Palantir, discusses business strategy and monopoly theory in "Competition is For Losers".
See the slides and readings at www.startupclass.samaltman.com...
Discuss this lecture: www.startupclass.co/courses/ho...
Chapters (Powered by bit.ly/chapterme-yc) -
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:00:50 - Outline
00:00:57 - Capturing value
00:01:57 - Big piece of a small pie
00:03:37 - Perfect competition
00:04:31 - Monopoly
00:05:33 - Lies people tell
00:05:36 - Differences underestimated
00:06:59 - Narratives
00:07:54 - British food in Palo Alto
00:08:40 - Do the intersections make money?
00:08:45 - Blockbuster movie
00:09:29 - Is the intersection valuable?
00:09:35 - Startup version
00:10:11 - The search market
00:11:00 - The advertising market
00:11:29 - The technology market
00:12:36 - Evidence of narrow markets
00:13:28 - How to build a monopoly
00:13:39 - The right size
00:14:36 - Start small and expand
00:17:05 - Start big and shrink
00:18:40 - Last mover advantage
00:18:45 - Characteristics of monopoly
00:27:10 - Value of the future
00:27:55 - History of innovation
00:28:28 - Technological innovation
00:30:16 - Capturing value
00:31:59 - Success cases
00:37:03 - Psychology of competition
00:38:14 - Mimetic preferences
00:38:33 - Competition as validation
00:42:22 - Q&A
00:42:26 - Q1
00:43:01 - Q2
00:43:38 - Q3
00:44:34 - Q4
00:46:40 - Q5
00:47:55 - Q6 - Věda a technologie
Chapters (Powered by ChapterMe) -
00:00 - Introduction
00:50 - Outline
00:57 - Capturing value
01:57 - Big piece of a small pie
03:37 - Perfect competition
04:31 - Monopoly
05:33 - Lies people tell
05:36 - Differences underestimated
06:59 - Narratives
07:54 - British food in Palo Alto
08:40 - Do the intersections make money?
08:45 - Blockbuster movie
09:29 - Is the intersection valuable?
09:35 - Startup version
10:11 - The search market
11:00 - The advertising market
11:29 - The technology market
12:36 - Evidence of narrow markets
13:28 - How to build a monopoly
13:39 - The right size
14:36 - Start small and expand
17:05 - Start big and shrink
18:40 - Last mover advantage
18:45 - Characteristics of monopoly
27:10 - Value of the future
27:55 - History of innovation
28:28 - Technological innovation
30:16 - Capturing value
31:59 - Success cases
37:03 - Psychology of competition
38:14 - Mimetic preferences
38:33 - Competition as validation
42:22 - Q&A
42:26 - Q1
43:01 - Q2
43:38 - Q3
44:34 - Q4
46:40 - Q5
47:55 - Q6
Thanks for this
Can't believe that was Sam Altman introducing Peter Thiel to give a masterclass on business
Thiel still stands above Altman in my mind. He’s a powerhouse of deep knowledge.
Made the same comment 3 months before you! I had watched this video years ago, before knowing who Altman was, and recently my mind said to me.... that was Sam Altman who introduced Thiel in that Stanford talk. Crazy how your mind works
This is a fresh look at it. Takes courage and persistence to wander out into the wilderness and build a new civilization but that is the summary of innovation. Opportunity meets preparation. In addition, this goes to show how it is prominent to seek the help of an expert. Going into a field with little or no basic knowledge could be risky.
I think it's wrong that only one company makes the game Monopoly. Steven Wright
Yes I concur. The prominence of institutional or basic financial managers cannot be exaggerated. Markets are oceans not lakes. Diversification too as stated is key. Take myself, having encountered my fair share of bad trades, I was able to realize how timing, capital, entry and a lot more are essential. Now, I have a $122k portfolio averaging a 12% monthly roi in less than a year following -Yvonne Annette Lively- so I do know the importance of basic knowledge and delegation.
@@joecaruso06 recently a CBCC featured? in which she discussed how debt and credit serve as the driving force behind a booming economy? I'm referring to Yvonne Annette Lively. There was a 9% monthly return when I last checked. Describe the commission's culture.
The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design.
Friedrich August von Hayek
The one sentence to summarize this video is at 41:49. "The tremendous price (of competition) is that you stop asking some bigger questions ... don't always go through the tiny little doors that everyone tries to rush through, maybe go around the corner, go through the vast gate no one is taking."
Jane You yeah, there’s a price to that too... it is not free. You will feel the pain of being highly different, then joking ridicule, then logical ridicule, then blatant attacks that seams like pure insanity, the aloof expectance with requests to join you... esetra esetra...
Like he says... Aspergers helps one stay ignoring to the haters.
Fascinating.
WHAT GATE, SWAY?!?!
clearly communist propaganda. good work, comrades.
takes courage and persistence to wander out into the wilderness and build a new civilization. not many people do it because of this
@@jzk2020 the metaphorical gate
Great life lesson: don't just try things that are new to you; try things that no-one else is doing. Avoid anything that seems caught up in competition, which turns into a race to the bottom.
Like Peter Thiel did all his life?
@Quack Watch your statement doesn't explain why Elon had the largest share when x.com and continuity merged. czcams.com/video/nvQ4p82-D54/video.html
Name me a single business that *isn't* race to the bottom in capitalism..?
@Quack Watch c'mon man, why would x.com and confinity merge if confinity had a better platform? Confinity had the marketing and x.com was more technically sound, hence Elon had the biggest share. Let me make this more explicit, Elon had a larger contribution to what eventually was sold as PayPal than Peter Thiel.
@@movement2contact beat it commie
"The most contrarian thing of all is not to oppose the crowd but to think for yourself." - Peter Thiel
czcams.com/video/S-Jo-djilvo/video.html
People tend to view a competition as a validation and pursue it. But those two may not be related. He has a very refreshing insight!
"All unhappy companies are alike - because they fail to escape the essential sameness that is competition" - well said, Mr Thiel
czcams.com/video/S-Jo-djilvo/video.html
thing is the Ann Karenina quote didn't work at all. Tolstoy said that all unhappy families are unhappy in their own unique way.
Wrong. The throughline has nothing to do with competition. He is playing semantics. They are unhappy because they are factually complacent in the unwillingness to create change in their environment, ie make EV or hybrid vehicles, food companies moving towards ready made foods, camera manufacturers getting into action cameras, dept stores being aggressive to online sales, and Paypal doing what credit card companies refused to do, Can they? Yes, so why don't they? Leadership are made up of fossils who don't want the risk under their tenue. That's the bottom line. Competition is not the issue.
3 takeaways mainly
1. conquer a small market and expand in the adjacent markets
2. vertical integration is key
3. learn from early birds and develop superior product using someone else's invention
I will forever appreciate this channel, you've helped my family alot, your videos, advice, lessons and funny words are inspirational and helpful to us. My husband and have been able to be minimal, conscious in spending, saving and investing wisely, I now earn every week. You're such a blessing to this generation. we all love you
You're right, the importance of multiple stream of income, unfortunately having a job doesn't mean financial freedom or security
Investment is that tiny line that separates the rich from the poor.
@@tacmadric9351 I truly agree with you on that
Investment in crypto also pays a lot
speaking of crypto investment!. I know I am blessed because I wouldn't have met someone who is as spectacular as Avgustin Yakov
this is the best business lecture i've ever seen
Best and most depressing if you trying to build a startup.
Or great opportunities, when you believe in yourself.
I read his book. Listening to this talk is sufficient. Same Ideas
If his goal is a Monopoly... do you really think he would educate people how to compete in business? I think you guys are missing the big picture...
@@actualideas8078 Of course he is not going to share his entire thinking with us.
Mainly we should appreciate that he was honest about the fact that businesses run to create monopolies. Business and enterprise are very different from each other.
This is both good and bad. Business is like the Roman empire and surrounding tribes are like the enterprise. Both are killing each other. It's best to atleast be open about it.
In one of Milton Friedman's 'Free to Choose', he commented on Donald Rumsfeld as a businessman, and made his distaste for businesses well known. So this is nothing new.
But appreciate the great clarity with which he can shamelessly say that he is anti competition. Absolutely.
We all know the natural state of nature is competition. Like the video game Sekiro, which is obsessed with the idea of immortality suggests, the longer you live the more you stagnate, till eventually you corrupt. It's necessary to die and be replaced by something better and more fresh.
I don't know who Needs to Hear This but " Greatness is often built when no one is watching ". So don't give up and keep going
Great ,
Hope you are building your greatness in the darkness 💗😍.
Keep striving buddy.
Great comment 👍👍.
Loved it 💞💞
Peter Thiel is and always has an interesting viewpoint. Thank you, YC.
@@nb6175 You should throw away your phone and stay off the internet. I for one would be happy if debbie downers like you didn't leave unrelated comments under a valuable and free business lecture.
Peter's lecture here is much deeper than a simple comment line can describe. It's a great mixture of economic psychology, the influence and responses to legislative threat, blue ocean strategy, "learning is more than copying" ("all unhappy companies are alike"), the importance of massive advantages over competition (the "order of magnitude" argument), how real benefits trump mere branding, etc., all to avoid competition.
actually all happy companies are alike. unhappy are unhappy in their own way
@@thatisme3thatisme38 No, that's for families. The opposite applies to companies. All happy companies are not alike, because they are monopolistic in different markets (they each solved a unique problem). Unhappy companies exist because they all failed to escape competition.
Beautiful! Priceless education in one hour.
This guy have a really good, dry sense of humor and an ability to connect with the audience even as he makes some unorthodox - even slightly controversial arguments. I've been impressed with his striking candor and independence of thought in every speech or interview I have heard. And that is generally true of this entire How to Start a Startup series. I heartily recommend it.
I adore Him, sort of Idol for me!..
czcams.com/video/S-Jo-djilvo/video.html
Yes amazing guy. Cool confidence and clarity of thought
@@GirishVenkatachalam Wenn man denn auf durchgeknallte Faschisten steht......Dann ist der Thiel natürlich die richtige Wahl.
If you are a controversial figure, then you are on the right track as doing something new or different angers the masses.
Peter Thiel's understanding of business is so deep. I just need to find the technological moat for a monopoly!
His book: Zero to One, is a must read for everyone tying to get into the Startup World.
czcams.com/video/S-Jo-djilvo/video.html
Can’t believe this is available to me for free
Exactly , he is brilliant
The thing about the examples of starting small is, small was the only thing available to many of the now-big tech companies. When Google started, for example, there wasn't all that much to search for on the Web (compared to today). If the Web hadn't really taken off, Google wouldn't have, either. So, it's really more like avoiding the tiny little doors everyone else is trying to go through, and go for a gate miles away you're not even sure exists (you've just heard rumors there is one). And that's a dynamic I wish he would have talked about more. Because plenty of people start companies in small markets that remain small, unable to grow. And you'd want to avoid that if possible, too.
one thing he should have mentioned is the possiblity to influence the market and having market future forecast. If you can see its potential and figure out what is needed to grow the market you have taken over in its infancy youll be able to make it grow if it has the potential ofcourse and nothing crazy happens like a goverment crackdown or new inovation that makes it cease to exists aka what cars did to horses.
Your comment highlights one of the most important factor that all successful start-ups have in common, and that is timing!
This is the exact dilemma I’m facing with my start up that serves independent animators.
Lovely. It's always a breath of fresh air to hear someone who can see past the fog and hear past the noise.
Loved when Thiel came to my school and gave this same talk. Incredibly inspiring to hear his thoughts in person. Zero to One remains one of my favorite books.
Basically: *test the product in the smaller market,* then go big, if the product is ready.
The major principle should be to build the product for the large scale market from the start, but launch it in the small one, so that one can dominate it and expand from the place of strength, instead of the place of nothing.
@@craniumfirst What he said was you can create a larger market from a smaller one without competition. So I guess the distinction is, he is not saying a large market exists, but it is up to you to create that larger market.
His comment could be interpreted both ways. What does build for a large market mean? It could mean, the market exists, it could mean it doesn't. So he could be right.
No, not at all. He very clearly said monopolize a small market, not test a bigger product in a small one.
You start with a small market (actually, you can almost create new market by inventing some new product/service) and then you improve the product and expand the market keeping big share of it.
@@JohnFunnyMIH what's exactly a small market
@@craniumfirst Not what he said at all. The high like count indicates the number of people that didn't understand the principles taught in this. Maybe they do not understand the definition of monopoly.
Incredibly focused speaker. Love his "Zero to one" book
The content for the book emerged from this lecture and the other lectures in the course.
100% probably one of the most focussed speaker I know
More like 1 to 1.1. PayPal and fb both examples of iterating from 1, not 0.
great read ineed
That was an incredibly boring book
One of the greatest lesson i have learnt in my life! Thank you CZcams.
19:12 "If you're copying these people, you're not learning from them."
Wow. This is an awesome talk. I am glad I found it even now.
2020 i watched this from Afghanistan. 2021 I was in Iran watching this, This year I am watching this from Germany. In 5 Years I am going to watch this from San Fransico :). I am going to open up my own firm soon.
Gained so much value in this conversation thanks Peter
What an amazing insightful presentation on the economics of entrepreneurship.
czcams.com/video/S-Jo-djilvo/video.html
This is a very good talk. It is amazing. I'm glad the youtube algorithm brought me here!
Great lecture. If anyone reading this comment has liked this video and has not read his book "ZERO TO ONE", you will definitely enjoy it. It is a short business book summarizing his lectures while his time teaching at Stanford.
One of the best talks on YT
Watching this right after the Judiciary committee talked to Google, FB, Amazon and Apple on 7/29/20. A lot of similarities to what Thiel said and their arguments...
Competition is one of the biases in the "Lollapalooza effect" that Charlie Munger identified. Among lack of creativity, appetite to conform and shine, etc. But Thiel's contribution to the confluence of bias with competition is quite original. Well spotted!
Favorite part is when he talks about longevity of a company as being the most valuable metric. Hard to measure in the "now" he says. So undervalued.
"don't always go through the tiny little doors that everyone tries to rush through, maybe go around the corner, go through the vast gate no one is taking."
In a similar vein, i never knew what all the sports thing was about. I really tried to get into the competition thing and all, but to no avail. I always felt in my heart, "i'm not into competition, i'm into cooperation". I bought my first computer in 1995. In a couple of years, i heard about this "open source thing" called GNU / Linux. I was hooked. Business model or not, open source will advance society more than competition.
Competition of Open Source Apps 😎
This is a great video. Very instructional. His business strategy is unique. His points of view are relevant. Everything changes and this include the basical concepts that we have about business.
Wow the palantir jacket in 2017 this guy doesn't miss
among top 10 lectures of this century
Ah, so THAT's who Peter Gregory from Silicon Valley is based on... Thanks youtube!
Was Gregory Jewish too?
Correct. Right down to the reverse-scholarship for aspiring college dropouts (Thiel Fellowship)
@Fizzbuzz He could be a Jewish Christian.
@@pseudonymous8702 I would say he is closer to Gavin Belson. Thiel is where the blood boy thing comes from.
One of the greatest intellectual of our generation. Wish he would write more books
I don't think it's accurate o call him an intellectual. He's smart, but not an intellectual, i.e., somebody who primarily focuses on intellectual pursuits. He's an entrepreneur and an investor primarily.
Purely semantic (and false) distinction. As if to say that somehow an entrepreneur and an investor can't be primarily focused on an intellectual pursuit, as if those activities aren't somehow "intellectual enough." I tend to value the thoughts of thinkers who are fully engaged in real world pursuits more than those who sit in ivory towers, if for no other reason than bare-knuckled experience often leads to insights that just simple thinking won't.
He's obviously an amazing business person, but everything he discusses here is just competitive strategy 101. These aren't his insights. He is just summarizing the well-known and established work of others.
Fascinating video, everything he explained made so much sense
Brilliant!! Peter talks a lot about this in his book "Zero to One"
Wonderful presentation, presented a much needed explanation of evolving business structure and how to be successful by integrating needed pieces and I think if you have the right product and a little patience you will achieve a natural monopoly, and go for inventions that are natural fits for you.
Thank you so much Helena H Ashby
great lecture, thank you so much for sharing!
"Big piece of a small pie" is such a great concept to begin with. Amazing
i agree with almost everything he said and now to watch again to see if i can disagree ! the proof is in the ability to hold under light of skepticism - and survive scrutiny at the highest levels of quality controls.
This is the greatest lecture I have ever heard.
Hear some more.
That's really sad.
Very interested to see the concept of building value to your business by thinking first principles and being authentic. The real game changers are monopolies and constantly compete against themselves rather than other competitors.
Dude
How Intelligent can you be
What makes me even be more astounded
He portrays his own idea of delivering value in his own lecture
I have never or barely received so much value in 1 single fucking lecture
Best lecture I've ever seen
Lessons : always be the last one ( funny stripe beat them on this one ), scientist/inventors never make money they deserved, never underestimate the problem you are trying to solve.
This is Greenwald's competitive advantage 101. Thiel summarizes many of Greenwald's important points very well.
Really great lecture by Thiel. Tesla IMO is an interesting case study. Thiel describes Tesla to a T in that they do many things better, but not breakthrough better, marginally in many areas like batter, software, tech etc. Tesla started out in a small total market, Fully Electric Cars. They started at the smallest section of EVs with a high cost roadster that would only attract a small section of the customer population. They got great traction and took over majority if not all of the EV sportscar market. Then their more mass release were luxury, higher end sedans and crossovers that priced from $80-180K that would be attractive to a minority of the customer base. Now they have mass market model 3 and Ys. At one point, Tesla was indeed the monopoly player in the plub in 100% EV space. But due to not having a technology that is 10 times better than competition and not being the last mover, they have emerging competition from all over the world.
Greatest thinkers of our times !!
"Happy companies [are] unique whereas unhappy companies failed to espace the essential sameness of competition."
My rule in life is that if I ever catch myself in a position where everyone around me has the same plan, I’m in the wrong place.
“people who seek competition are seeking validation”
definitely need to ponder over that one…
Very informative and fresh perspective to consider when starting a business
Very intelligent guy. I read Zero to One and disagree with a lot of his opinions, but it's important to expose yourself to as many different viewpoints as possible and recalibrate as necessary.
Fun fact: this is the exact summary of zero to one
definitely one of the best lectures I've seen
one of the best things I have watched this year
Same
super valuable speech! also loved his jokes lol
His arguments are more for people who don't want a million but a billion dollars
kinda agree with you here. you can make alot of money in the so called competitive industries. But this is a talk meant for stanford students so there's that
Very well put, not everyone wants to be a billionaire, some people just want a comfortable life
@@ag992009 I want to be a billionaire. A multi-billionaire, to be exact.
@@cryptotrader4307 I guess we will hang out on the multi billionaire club
@@ag992009 I'll see you in there. Cheers!
WOW , THIS man is hella smart. thanks so much for the content
I always learn a lot from him. "Very unique" is a common mistake of redundancy. Unique = one of a kind. Guess that sophisticated language is not a requirement to do well in life.
Sometimes it's about the flow of the sound than the literal meaning of the words. He can obviously communicate very clearly and lead a team.
Man...him bashing the film industry is really making me reconsider my life choices
After near 8 years, it might be good to watch this clip again, although we have to watch it several times to understand all aspects of Peter Thiel's words.
The first and only video i liked when the speaker said "um" in every sentence
Everyday I hv followed this. Innovation is also result of external environmental acting on our minds. My competitors environment and instincts may b different. I never cared as I sold my products and competed head to head with MS/Cisco even zoom.
great talk coming from a living proof... thank you for sharing
Just brilliant! What a mind
Truly. So much understanding of an extremely hard concept
This is Peter Thiel's definitive video
Is the next lecture on how to buy politicians and regulators so your monopoly isn't broken up?
The government is a monopoly. They don't break up corporate monopolies... they just integrate them into the state in very creative ways. This started with standard oil and has never changed.
The next lecture is how to make a deal with the devil and lose your soul. The elites will sacrifice their families for a dollar.
Its simple. Make government majority shareholder, here fixed it gor you.
Haha I don't think that portion will be airing free of charge, but it should! Exactly how it goes, and precisely why Bezos bought the Washington Post, and then purchased a large DC home, with ballroom for hob knobbing, with government officials and elected representatives.
@@ibelieveitsabouttime3840 yeah and they definitely have the monopoly on the use of force. In the end it all comes down to being upheld at a barrel of a gun, and they have the authority of using their guns.
Such an amazing talk!
Unbelievable speech. The "be the last, not the first, in your space" part, reflecting on how innovators often don't financially benefit from their contributions was especially provocative.
"Be the last" is strange advice though because it's only relevant when you're in a competitive market which is exactly what he earlier said one should avoid.
This talk changed my life
How?
Yea, it didnt so shut up
@@jimmyfallon2484 He's got a lot of attractive women around him now
noudi alp it’s true
Great advice from Peter Thiel. That's pretty much how I approached my niche business 10 years ago and I can vouch for what Peter is saying.
Good for you - I did the same - I went for a niche sector within a very large total mkt with major players but concentrated on 1 thing they didn't do - there was 1 or 2 global players (both small) and we were able to grow a great business. From there we pivoted to some quite different areas but they were all linked because they were relevant to our original client base. It def works.
@@randyschwaggins Yeah, similar approach to how I did it Randy. The other day a friend of mind mentioned how he would like to try start his own business and I literally thought of what Peter had said about "competition is for losers" and I gave him that advice, pick a niche area within a market and it will increase your chance of success.
I'm currently working on a new project, same approach. Hope business is going well for you.
I like your comment and personally I agree and that is exactly the route I have chosen for my business. A nice niche, with very little competition, and something that most people haven't heard of and never would imagine to be profitable. Been in business coming up on 8 years, growing steadily each year, and currently busier than ever before. However, now I am researching ways to gain investment and capital to grow business to the next stage, and hire some help, and it seems like most videos are suggesting that investors are looking for startups that have products or services that can potentially grow to into a massive market, things that will change the world, products within the tech sphere.
@@abikelife1481 Yeah, I suppose most investors are looking for a big return on their investment. For me, I really value my independence and the thought of giving over shares in my company and then having to consider the investor when making business decisions makes me feel uncomfortable. Though each to their own. If at all possible I think growing organically with the resources you already have it the best way, sometimes bigger isn't always better. Though, don't get me wrong, I appreciate these things are not black & white and investment might be crucial at a particular point in time for a business for it to grow in a meaningful way.
I love this guy. He is awesome.
This is so insightful, thank you.
His answer to the last question was so good that I had to watch it twice. I wonder what's the guy who asked it up to now.
What was the question?
Probably was interested in burying bitcoins last year
he is Zuck's number 2 at Facebook
@@manns101101 Moskovitz ?
what was the actual question? i rewatched, but can't hear it clearly.
Pure gold!
Incredible presentation thank you !
This is a 50min summary of the book zero to one, very powerful👏🙌
Buy the book
You know that's the key. You delight a narrow group of customers. That is doable. That gives you experience as a business person and that success in that segment will make people (consumers and investors) have confidence in your business and then you start to think of ways to grow it.. keep punching and boom you're an overnight success 20 years in the making. Most can't do that.
" the something of somewhere is generally the nothing of nowhere" brilliant
excellent lecture.. how then do we incentivize innovation in markets where it's difficult to capture value like in scientific research which is generally good for the world?
Transformational!
0:45 Lots of buggy failures too 🤣
I love Peter Thiel! Hes a very strong Critical Thinker.
If you keep personal besting yourself and you have a realistic perspective on your own work, you will become better than others. Competition puts the frame in the hands of your competitors, but they can never be you.
lol, remember the recent testimonial of apple/google/amazon? They were claiming exactly that they are not a monopoly. (obviously they are)
So much for that Google is like what one of the only corporations that has gone offshore
That was always Thiel's end game and he's pulled it off with Plantir, so far at least.
10:00
Dang ...
”The something of somewhere is the nothing of nowhere”
This was great. Thanks for posting and sharing!
Very clear perspective view !
I love the game monopoly...
I wonder what his thoughts are on the societal effects of monopoly.
From an investor point of view monopolies are great
I know. I watched the lecture.