Why "Zero to One" Changed How I Approach Problems

Most people optimize for competition. They ask: "Who's winning, and how do I beat them?"

Thiel asks something different: "What do I know that the consensus doesn't?"

That question flipped a switch for me.

At Actimi, we could build "better analytics." Join the crowd. Or we ask what if analytics could be genuinely private? What if the tech industry is wrong about data collection?

That's contrarian. That's worth building.

The book taught me that most innovation isn't incremental. It's directional. You're not going from 1 to 2. You're going from 0 to 1 creating something that didn't exist.

The uncomfortable truth: most people are afraid of contrarian thinking. "What if I'm wrong?" Yes, you might be. But at least you're thinking.

Next time you're building something, ask yourself:

• Does this just do existing things better?
• Or does this do something fundamentally different?

One feels safe. The other actually matters.