Creating something genuinely new, not iterating on what exists
Zero to One is the concept popularized by Peter Thiel's book of the same name. It describes the challenge and value of creating something entirely new — going from 0 to 1 — rather than copying and improving what already exists (1 to n). Thiel argues true value comes from monopoly-level innovation.
PayPal was Zero to One — digital money transfer didn't exist at scale before it. A tenth payments app is 1 to n. Thiel's framework pushes founders to ask: 'What important truth do very few people agree with me on?'