AOL co-founder looks to support entrepreneurs outside of traditional hubs

AOL co-founder looks to support entrepreneurs outside of traditional hubs
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Steve Case co-founded Quantum Computer Services in 1985, which he later renamed America Online, or AOL, a company that would play a pivotal role in shaping the internet and making it more broadly accessible. 

In the nearly 18 years since AOL’s $164 billion merger with Time Warner, Case has been making an impact in a different way, using his Washington, D.C.-based investment firm, Revolution, to invest in startup companies outside of the traditional tech hubs of Silicon Valley, Boston and New York.

Since 2014, Case has traveled to 43 cities across the U.S. to visit their entrepreneurial ecosystems, and Revolution’s three funds have invested some $1 billion in growth-stage, venture-stage and startup companies. Along the way, Case has written two bestselling books, “Rise of the Rest: How Entrepreneurs in Surprising Places are Building the New American Dream” and “The Third Wave: An Entrepreneur’s Vision of the Future.”

Case will be discussing “Rise of the Rest” with author Walter Isaacson during the New Orleans Entrepreneur Week, at 12:30 p.m. Thursday in Gallier Hall. In this week’s Talking Business, he talks about “rise of rest” cities like New Orleans, and what it will take to bring the local entrepreneurial ecosystem to the next level.

Interview has been edited for clarity and length.

What motivated you to create Revolution and support entrepreneurs outside of the traditional tech hubs?

A bunch of things. Obviously, I had the opportunity to build a company and help play a role in helping to create the internet and I did that from Virginia, not Silicon Valley. It was harder for us to attract capital, harder to get people to take us seriously. I think that experience is part of what drove us. I also was asked to chair a White House initiative, Startup America, under President Obama. That experience opened my eyes to the fact that most of the new jobs are being created by new businesses. Not big businesses. Not small businesses but new businesses. Yet, 75% of venture capital goes to New York, California and Boston. So, it came from my own experience and looking at the data and seeing that this is a problem to solve and an opportunity.

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About Mary Weyand 15948 Articles
Mary founded Scoop Tour with an aim to bring relevant and unaltered news to the general public with a specific view point for each story catered by the team. She is a proficient journalist who holds a reputable portfolio with proficiency in content analysis and research. With ample knowledge about the Automobile industry, she also contributes her knowledge for the Automobile section of the website.

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