Those who have followed Thiel’s career, or been close to him, know that Peter has a tendency to defy popular theory, self-confidence, and an ability to bring about the impossible in his favor. Signs of this can be seen both in Thiel the man and in the companies he helps build.
Thiel is a master chess player, a billionaire, co-founder of PayPal and Palantir, and the greatest investor of his generation. He has also sponsored right-wing initiatives such as providing financial support to Donald Trump’s candidacy in 2016.
Thiel is perhaps the most popular person in the world’s most influential industry. Other Silicon Valley figures, such as Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and even those who don’t regularly launch rockets into space, are well known to the public. But the real influential figure in Silicon Valley is Peter Thiel.
He and his staff work on the fastest growing strategy with PayPal. His strategy has been used to build a whole generation of startups, from Airbnb to WeWork. Thiel didn’t just sit back and watch others work in a certain genre.
He has trained entrepreneurs at Stanford on his methods. He tries to teach his ex-employees from the companies he built, the so-called ‘PayPal Mafia’. He later recorded his thoughts in his book Zero to One.
Thiel looked down on the counterculture of the sixties. According to him, the purpose of building a company is to control your own destiny. Thiel writes in his book, “By building a startup, you can do your best to master a certain subject.”
A new generation of entrepreneurs who came in during the economic downturn adopted his ideals. He encourages them to break the rules, and advises them to focus on financial gain rather than impact on society. With Thiel’s encouragement, tech companies started working on the principles of moving fast and breaking down barriers. Facebook has given their motto, “Move fast and break things.”