Now, a moment of reflection about America’s innovation economy. We know that in technology hubs like Silicon Valley, it’s cool to fail. That’s the mark of a seasoned, risk taking entrepreneur: having tried, failed, and tried again. It may also be cool to draw a mediocre salary.

That’s the argument of  one of America’s leading technology venture capitalist, who says he looks for low salaries at the top of start ups when he’s thinking about investing. Peter Thiel was a co-founder of Paypal and the first outside investor in Facebook. He’s also the author of a new book, “Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future.”

Thiel also says monopoly, not competition, is the way to go. His advice to entrepreneurs is to find a niche and dominate it. Actually, he put it more strongly than that.

Click the media player above to hear Peter Thiel in conversation with Marketplace Morning Report host David Brancaccio.