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Why we picked it Peter Thiel's core argument is that every startup should begin with a very small market: a specific group of people, concentrated together, served by few or no competitors. That is a direct answer to your worry. Owning the small businesses in your own town is not a limit, it is exactly the kind of narrow, well understood beachhead you are supposed to dominate first, then expand from. Treat it as a starting point, not the final size of the company.
Zero to One: Start Small and Monopolize
From grahammann.net (Zero to One book notes) by Peter Thiel (notes by Graham Mann) ~15 min read
- A small, concentrated market you can fully own beats a slice of a big one you can only rent.
- Win the niche completely first (like PayPal did with eBay power sellers), then expand into adjacent markets.
- Deep knowledge of one customer set is an edge, not a ceiling, if you have a real plan to grow outward.