Last year, a very popular book, From to 1, finally got a chance to read it. The book discussed many issues, covering almost all aspects that a startup has to face. At the beginning of the book, it attracted a group of famous sayings: founder of Facebook
, founder of Tesla, CEO of GE, co-founder of Netscape, etc., and was strongly recommended by The Economist, Fortune and Cox Book Review. This opening makes people feel that this is an ordinary success book. In view of my limited knowledge base, the following parts will quote the views of some experts.
The book points out that the most important thing for a start-up company is new ideas, new thinking, daring to innovate, and being able to plan and cast a new future with people who dream. To succeed on the road of innovation, you need not only a solid knowledge base, but also the courage and courage to question and examine your business from scratch. There are different reasons for the success of enterprises. They all gain monopoly position by solving a unique problem, and their core competitiveness is irreplaceable and unrepeatable in technology. They create better new things, give consumers more choices, enrich the needs of society and the world, and become the driving force for making society better.
I don't think it's new when I read it roughly. But the description of "monopoly enterprises" in the book is very interesting. Peter. Thiel gave four characteristics of monopoly enterprises: patented technology, network effect, economies of scale and brand advantage. Patented technology: the company's most substantial core advantage is difficult to be copied by other companies, and it is best to lead the industry average by more than 1 times, which is essentially a brand-new product.
network effect: more people use the product, and the product is more useful. The more useful the product, the more people will use it. Enterprises that form a network effect must start from a very small market, such as Facebook. Economies of scale: it is difficult for service enterprises to become monopoly enterprises. Simply expanding the scale, such as opening a number of yoga studios, can only obtain limited benefits. Products don't need repeated investment, but are shared with higher sales volume, and the marginal cost approaches zero. This is the real economies of scale. Brand advantage: building a strong brand is a powerful way to form a monopoly. Brand management depends not on ideas, not stars, but on strength. He feels that there is no technology company, and it can only rely on brands to develop. In theory, he talked a lot, even in which he praised Google, Facebook, Amazon, Apple, etc., but he was quite critical of Microsoft Tablet, Xanadu, Yahoo, etc., which I don't think is very convincing. Almighty Apple almost monopolized the profits of the smart phone industry, especially Peter. Teal likes to quote successful examples. However, compared with the above four characteristics, it is not completely consistent. Apple is a latecomer in the smart phone industry and has no advantage in patented technology. The other three characteristics are the same for whoever succeeds, which is not so much the cause of monopoly as the result of monopoly after success. Nokia in the 199s and Samsung today also have the above four characteristics, but they can't compete with Apple.
No matter what kind of innovation mode, differentiation and core competitiveness are the kingly ways to create monopoly; Brand and economies of scale can boost the persistence and vitality of monopoly.
the core feature of monopoly enterprises is that they are "different". Of course, the key to being different lies in technological innovation and product upgrading, so as to continuously win the "loyalty" of customers. For example, the success of iPhone lies in its fashion, cuteness, ease of use, and its unique business model. If one day, a company produces a mobile phone, which makes customers feel more touching than the iPhone, and the business model is more unique. The iPhone is no longer "different", then it can only repeat the mistakes of Nokia.
there is no doubt that enterprises can obtain the maximum profit value by monopolizing, which is more beneficial to the development of enterprises. So how can we monopolize it? Peter. Thiel gave the method of establishing a monopoly enterprise: occupying a small market: starting from a small market, preferring to be small rather than big, in order to gain a foothold first. Then, concentrate superior forces, focus on breakthroughs and monopolize a certain industry or category. Because of monopoly, huge profits can be made. Because of profit, we have the ability to attack the city and build an empire. Scale expansion: gradually expand from niche market to cultivate and cater to customer satisfaction. Develop and expand the market step by step and with discipline. Gradually expand outward from the core business. Destructive innovation: use scientific and technological innovation to launch a low-end product at a low price, and then improve it to upgrade the product. And remove all obstacles, not broken. At the same time, in order to gain the innovation advantage, the patented technology must be 1 times better than its nearest substitute in some aspects in order to have a real monopoly advantage. Companies must strive to achieve 1 times improvement, and a little improvement means no improvement for end users. Suppose you develop a new air purifier, which is 2% more efficient than the existing technology-this is the laboratory data, but the experimental data must be deducted from the production costs and risks faced by the new product in the actual market. And even if your product does bring 2%
improvement to customers, because people are used to exaggerated advertising, you will certainly be questioned when selling the product. Only by improving 1 times can your product bring obvious advantages to customers.
there is a four-quadrant classification in chapter 6, and I am very interested in the classification of these four quadrants. He divided the quadrant into whether the future is clear and whether the attitude is pessimistic or optimistic. And the States of these four quadrants are illustrated with the examples of the United States (definitely optimistic)
the United States (not explicitly optimistic), China (definitely pessimistic) and Europe (not explicitly pessimistic)
from 195 to 197. At the same time, the philosopher's view of the future is also divided into these four quadrants. Peter Thiel thinks that being optimistic about the future is the best state and will greatly promote the development of society.
If you are clearly pessimistic, people will tend to be conservative and save. Ambiguous optimism is likely to lead to false prosperity and eventually collapse. Unclear pessimism may lead to hedonism and broken cans. In fact, you can also refer to this division for a person's life. When you are young, people will be divided into two categories, clear optimism and vague optimism about the future. People who are clearly optimistic about the future have the highest success rate. According to my understanding, it is early determination and positive attitude under rationality. Without clear optimism, people may make various attempts, which will distract one's energy and reduce the chances of success. After all, concentration is the prerequisite for success. And many people often face
definite pessimism and vague pessimism when they reach middle age. Clear pessimists tend to be conservative and save, which may be a better choice for some people. But I don't think this is the best choice. It is best to turn the future into clear optimism, but it requires people to make great changes, which can not be done by ordinary people. Ambiguous pessimism is to leave the decision to God. This state is actually what we call an irrational state. Therefore, entering a clear and optimistic state earlier can effectively improve the probability of success. Being in other States also needs to be as clear and optimistic as possible. But I think sometimes being clear and pessimistic is an optional strategy. We just need to adjust our goals and mentality. After all, only a few people are recognized as successful. Of course, happiness is the ultimate goal of everyone's life, not the success of outsiders. Everyone's feelings and standards are different and constantly changing.
On closer reading, almost all the viewpoints are familiar, except for Peter. Teal's statement is just that. Every enterprise must pay attention to seven problems in order to succeed, and Tesla's success is that it has solved these seven problems. With advanced technology, all automobile companies rely on it; Seize the fleeting opportunity and get huge subsidies; Start from the high-end electric sports car market and monopolize the market; Have a team that is good at technology and sales; Take sales seriously and build a complete sales chain; The advantage of being one step ahead will expand its leading position in the next few years; Create a unique brand around the secret that the rich want to show enough "green". In view of China's replication mentioned by him, my idea is that learning, inheriting and carrying forward can not only meet the needs of phased survival, but also realize the highest demand of Maslow's theory. It is only after the foundation needs to be solved that it is possible to innovate, and then form a monopoly and get excess monopoly profits. At the same time, the book itself actually confirms the author's point of view in the book: the world is driven by sales promotion, and sales without expression are the most effective.