Thiel founded Pay Pal and was the first outside investor in facebook. He did a course for Stanford on start-ups and the notes have been posted online.
I'm on the third lecture so far and am finding it fun, interesting reading.
http://blakemasters.com/peter-thiels-cs183-startup
Peter Thiel lectures on creating a Start-Up
Moderator: Dux
Peter Thiel lectures on creating a Start-Up
“Every single day you live, you make a difference in the world, and you get to choose the difference that you make.” — Jane Goodall