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Chapter Fourteen- The Founders Paradox

In this chapter Theil points out how founders are usually very unusual people. Unusual traits are self-reinforcing. In this chapter Theil has mentioned many examples like Richard Branson, Sean Parker and Lady Gaga, about their eccentric traits and their success.

It can be great to think and live out of the box, but you also become a scapegoat when anything goes wrong. Take any celebrity for example.

The lesson for business is that we need founders, we should tolerate founders that seem strange or extreme. We need unusual individuals to drive companies beyond mere extremism.

Don’t overestimate your power as an individual. The most important thing to bear in mind is that founders shouldn’t take power and glory too seriously

Conclusion

This book is a must read for anyone that’s interested in thinking about the world in a different point of view, especially anyone interested in starting up their own business. Thiel mentions certain practices that will shape your thinking and help you and your business succeed. This book asks you to go against what most people think about business, competition, monopolies, marketing or strategies and look at them in ways others won’t.

The world has gone through both good and bad times. It’s an inescapable pattern and will continue. Through technological improvements, even if things go wrong, they won’t be as bad as they used to. We need to try being optimistic that we’re going into an improved future, hopefully going from zero to one.