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Hey friends 👋 ,

Happy Monday and welcome to the twelfth issue of Through the Noise!

Today we're taking a look at some of Peter Thiel's lessons on startups and venture investing.

It’s time to strap in and enjoy.

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Peter Thiel's Timeless Tactics

Peter Thiel's book 'Zero to One' has some foundational lessons and principles that can be used by startups founders and business owners.

Here are the 10 best lessons:

1. Bet on a Contrarian Truth

Answer the following:

"What important truth do very few people agree with you on?"

Steve Jobs bet on the contrarian truth that we didn't need a physical keyboard for smartphones.

Almost everyone at the time disagreed with him... until they didn't.

2. Escape Competition

Thiel said:

"All failed companies are the same: they failed to escape competition."

By betting your business on a contrarian truth, you'll dramatically increase the odds of avoiding competition.

Make sure to bet on a contrarian truth whose time has come.

3. Start by Dominating a Small Market

When Jeff Bezos started Amazon, he had the idea of creating an 'everything' store.

But he didn't start with everything.

Bezos focused on dominating a small niche market– online books.

Don't get 1% of a $1B market, get 80% of a $1M market.

4. Strive to be a Monopoly

When you establish a monopoly you prevent the competition from eating away your profits.

4 ways to become a monopoly:

1. Brand Association – Apple

2. Proprietary Technology – Google > Bing

3. Network Effects – TikTok

4. Economies of Scale – Amazon

5. Learn to Go from Zero to One

Going from 1 → n means doing more of what has already been done.

Going from 0 → 1 means doing something that has never been done before.

It's easy to copy/improve existing products/services.

Going 0 → 1 is determined by original thinking.

6. Focus on One Thing

Put your effort behind one unique idea.

Having definite optimism will keeping you moving in a positive direction despite failure and setbacks.

7. Learn How to Sell

Every successful product/service has an effective market strategy or distribution channel.

People often say "I'm never going to be in sales."

Yet it is fundamental for influencing others and garnering trust.

Sales skills are life skills.

8. There is No Formula

The paradox of teaching entrepreneurship is that a formula for innovation can't exist.

Every new innovation is unique, no authority can prescribe in concrete terms how to be more innovative.

Think about business from first principles instead of formulas.

9. Learn the Lessons of the Past

Four big lessons from the dot-com crash that still guide business thinking today:

1. Make incremental advances

2. Stay lean and flexible

3. Improve on the competition

4. Focus on product, not sales

10. Last Can Be First

Chess Grand-master José Raúl Capablanca said:

"[to succeed], you must study the endgame before everything else."

It’s much better to make the last great development in a specific market and enjoy years or even decades of monopoly profits.

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Through the Noise Podcast

Last week we recorded the twelfth episode of the Through the Noise podcast.

Our guest was Linda Lian, the Co-Founder and CEO of Common Room, a community growth platform for today’s fastest-growing companies. Linda founded Common Room in 2020 to help bring organisations of all sizes closer to their communities. To date, they’ve raised over $50M from the likes of Sarah Guo at Greylock, Danny Rimer at Index and Next Play Ventures.

We discussed everything from the importance of building communities, how the role of community is going to evolve in the future and how to find a great co-founder when building a startup.

Catch the episode on Spotify, Apple and Callin.

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A little something extra...

Storytelling is a skill.

Being able to communicate effectively is one of the highest leverage skills you can learn.

When my friend Nathan Baugh launched World Builders I knew the principles and tactics he would cover could be brought over to the world of investing, startups and venture capital– he didn't disappoint.

Whether you're pitching your startup or negotiating a raise, knowing how to tell a good story will set you apart from the rest.

Check out his latest issue on The Science of Storytelling to level up your ability to influence others.

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That's all for today friends!

As always feel free to reply to this email or reach out @thealexbanks as I'd love to hear your feedback.

Thanks for reading and I'll catch you next Monday.

Alex