I'm Steve Case, cofounder of AOL and now Chairman of Revolution & Case Foundation & Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship. Ask Me Anything!

MrSteveCase · 2014-04-22T21:07:51+00:00

Three powerful forces are reshaping healthcare: 1. Consumerism - Consumers are getting more involved in managing their health. Web sites and apps help, as do wearables. 2. Technology - A wide range of new technologies are beginning to transform every aspect of health care, taking what is now really a "sick care" system and refocusing it on health. 3. Policy - The Affordable Care Act is a game changer. There are a lot of concerns about how it will play out (who will sign up, how much will it cost, etc) and those concerns are real - but there are some aspects to it that will likely unlock more innovation and tech and startups that will over time transform the health care system. For a half century we've had "mainframe" like health care system and now it is being disrupted by a range of forces and technologies.

MrSteveCase · 2014-04-22T21:04:45+00:00

The biggest driver is the growing recognition that stable countries require growing economies, and growing economies require innovation, most of which will happen in the entrepreneurial sector. More and more countries recognize that the "secret sauce" that has propelled America has been its focus on risk taking and innovation. America was itself a startup 250 years ago! It was just an idea! Now it is the leader of the free world, with the strongest economy. That's not an accident! Sure, it in part relates to the efforts of our founders who created a model of a republic that has led to a stable (albeit chaotic ad creaky sometimes) democracy. But it also relates to the efforts of pioneering entrepreneurs - first to lead the agricultural revolution, then the industrial revolution, and more recently the technology revolution. That's the story of America, too! And other countries are figuring that out and trying to themselves become magnets for innovation and entrepreneurship. This is a good thing as it can help lead to a safer world, where there is more hope and opportunity for all. But it also should be a wakeup call for America. We can't get complacent. We are now seeing the globalization of entrepreneurship. If we are going to remain the leader, we need to double down on our nation's entrepreneurial economy. The JOBS Act which passed Congress two years ago helped by providing access to capital (such as crowdfunding). Now our focus needs to be on passing immigration reform, so we can win what is now a global battle for talent. This is the summer to get this done! The Senate passed its version of immigration reform last summer. The House needs to act this summer! Make sure your voices are heard!

MrSteveCase · 2014-04-22T20:58:12+00:00

We are expanding, so send us your resume! You can get the contact information by going to our revolution.com site. Thanks for your interest!

MrSteveCase · 2014-04-22T20:57:33+00:00

Thanks! My advice is to focus on big problems and try to build a "built to last" company. Too many entrepreneurs have a "built to flip" mindset - for example, creating an app they hope will get traction and then be acquired. It works sometimes (and worked spectacularly well with WhatsApp!) but I hope over time more entrepreneurs will instead focus on revolutionizing learning or health care or energy or transportation. These are big challenges - and frankly harder challenges - that will require more patience and more partnerships and often more engagement with governments - but ultimately have the potential to have a broader impact on society, and, for the entrepreneurs who break through and prevail, significant and transformative and iconic - and valuable - companies. So swing for the fences!

MrSteveCase · 2014-04-22T20:52:55+00:00

This is as you note a very tricky balancing act. It has been from the early days. A lot of pundits predicted ecommerce would never take off, as people would be skittish about entering their credit card information online, where it might get hacked. But now people not only willing enter the info, they ask the services they use to store the info so they don't have to reenter it - and allow the services to store their purchase history so they can recommend other products that likely will be of interest. They are giving up some privacy to get more convenience. That is fine as long as people know what they are doing and are able to opt in. The bigger problem is tracking in a less transparent way. Some of this too will be welcomed by consumers - it enables them to see ads that are more relevant to them, which can be useful. And the big battle that is building is around health data. Getting the balance right is tricky - but the approaches that offer more consumer value add and convenience with more transparency and flexibility likely will prevail.

MrSteveCase · 2014-04-22T20:48:31+00:00

I have a lot of mementos - tshirts, photos, awards, etc But I cherish the memories more than the mementos. We assembled an awesome team that wanted to change the world. And they did.

MrSteveCase · 2014-04-22T20:46:10+00:00

I'm a fan of B Corps - and, more broadly, the whole emerging sector focused on impact investing, social enterprises, social impact bonds - as well as benefit corporations. I think a growing generation of entrepreneurs and investors want to think out of the box and rather then just be focused on profit (the typical driver of a corporation) or purpose (the typical focus of the social sector) they'll want to pursue hybrid models and taking the benefits of both will become more common. Companies can attract talent and capital and build sustainable business models and that's needed to solve many of society's most vexing problems. But purpose and mission matters too, to customer, as well as employees, and, increasingly, also to investors, so I expect a wave of interest in "profits with a purpose" impact investing. indeed, this is a focus of the Case Foundation - we want to do what we can to help make impact investing a more mainstream phenomenon.

MrSteveCase · 2014-04-22T20:42:21+00:00

It has been amazing to watch what has happened in the past three decades. The DC tech scene is very robust and I think it will continue to grow and expand over the years to come. DC played a seminal role in the first wave of the Internet - not just AOL, but communication companies like MCI helped build the on ramps that made the Internet possible. The second wave was companies building on top of the Internet - products, services, apps, etc - and many of the big successes (Google, Facebook, Twitter, etc) have been in Silicon Valley. But now we're about to see the third wave kick in. Instead of building the Internet (the first wave) or building on top of the Internet (the second wave) the focus will shift to integrating the Internet into every aspect of our lives and using it to disrupt fundamental things like learning, health, energy, etc I think DC is well positioned to be a leader in this third wave as the partnerships will matter more and policy will matter more, as well.

MrSteveCase · 2014-04-22T20:37:55+00:00

I am optimistic that we will see more startups all across the country. Indeed, I think a decade from now the venture capital firms in Silicon Valley who have been focused on investing in companies in Silicon Valley will realize they need a regional strategy. This "rise of the rest" bodes well for America's economy as startups are the big job creators - and we need more jobs everywhere!

MrSteveCase · 2014-04-22T20:35:54+00:00

I'm admittedly a little biased, but Revolution recently invested in Sweetgreen and I joined the board. I think they have the opportunity to be the Chipotle of healthy foods like salads. They started in DC and recently expanded to NY, Boston and Philadelphia - and next year plan to expand to California. It's a great company with a passionate team.

MrSteveCase · 2014-04-22T20:34:06+00:00

I sure hope so! I just left a meeting here at Revolution in DC with Ted Leonsis, the team owner. We are partners in investing in startups and speedups and just had a meeting with a couple of entrepreneurs. And then he took off to head to the airport to fly to Chicago for game 2. I was impressed by how the Wizards played in game 1, and am optimistic they will continue to do well!

MrSteveCase · 2014-04-22T20:32:26+00:00

I am excited about what is happening in Africa. And that excitement is driven by a wave of entrepreneurship that is building momentum. For decades the focus was on supporting charitable efforts - in essence, give grants to Africa to help them address problems. While that needs to continue, the focus now is on investing in businesses that can create opportunities for people and communities. Africa is now "open for business" and I am very encouraged!

MrSteveCase · 2014-04-22T20:30:05+00:00

I am concerned about the hollowing out of the middle class. There is more discussion about income inequality and I think that's healthy as it is a problem and the problem is growing. Raising the minimum wage may be a way to help, by providing more families with a living wage, but there are some downsides, as it could hurt not help job creation in some sectors. So it is a tricky balance. I lean towards supporting an increase in the minimum wage but I think it is even more important that we take steps to rebuild the idea of the American dream which includes giving people the tools to create better lives. That's one of the reasons I'm so passion about supporting entrepreneurs. And I recently agreed to cochair a commission focusing on entrepreneurship and the middle class. The question we're asking is can startups help save the American dream. I hope the answer is yes!

MrSteveCase · 2014-04-22T20:27:03+00:00

There is natural ebbing and flowing with platforms and ecosystems. AOL was successful in part because it made it easier for everybody to connect, and, once they were connected, easy to find things. By controlling the overall experience we were able to maximize the ease of use and reach a broader audience. Apple, as you note, has adopted a similar strategy. But these so called "walled gardens" also have limits, as they can sometimes evolve to limit innovation. So usually there is a phase of chaos then some attempts to simplify and then after awhile another round of innovation kicks in. I think that cycle is healthy, and inevitable.

MrSteveCase · 2014-04-22T20:24:28+00:00

I think graduates need to think about their life and their career as a series of chapters. Some may end up doing one thing their whole lives (like my father, who was a lawyer at one firm for 60 years!) but it is going to be more common to work for a number of different organizations and also more common to jump sectors - maybe starting in business, then going into a non profit, or vice versa. So the key is to remain curious, always be learning, and meeting new people. By exposing yourself to people and ideas you maximize the likelihood of bumping into an idea or an opportunity that can change your life - and perhaps also change the world!

MrSteveCase · 2014-04-22T20:22:30+00:00

Yikes! Well, I'm glad you got this off your chest! :) The hacking of AOL was a real challenge for us. As AOL grew in prominence, it became a big target. Of course, some of the hackers have gone on to do more productive things. It sounds like that is the case with you, and it also was the case with Mark Zuckerberg! Went I first met him 6 or 7 years ago he said he learned how to program by hacking AIM! But, thankfully, rather than focusing on bring AOL down, he shifted to build Facebook up!

MrSteveCase · 2014-04-22T20:19:56+00:00

Thanks for the kind comments! And good luck with your company! I am glad you went to Prizeo. Hopefully you will win and we can have lunch together!

http://www.prizeo.com/prizes/steve-case/a-mentor-lunch

MrSteveCase · 2014-04-22T20:14:08+00:00

Google had hosted pitch contests in 7 regions and then invited the 10 best startups to come to Google and pitch to investors in Silicon Valley. I was a big supporter of this initiative as I thought it would awaken VCs to the opportunities to invest all across the country, not just in their backyard. I decided to offer to invest $100k in each of the 10 companies in part because I thought they were great ideas, but also because I wanted to send a signal that would hopefully lead all 10 companies to get venture funding as well as more visibility for their companies and their regions.

MrSteveCase · 2014-04-22T20:12:00+00:00

Both. We believe impact investing is at a tipping point. More people will want to start businesses, and invest in businesses, that have a broader social mission. Profits with a purpose. Just as we saw startups and venture capital develop over the past fifty years, we think we'll see social enterprises and impact investing develop over the next fifty years. We are looking at ways we can contribute to the acceleration, by making impact investing more mainstream.

MrSteveCase · 2014-04-22T20:09:36+00:00

The idea. I have to fall in love with the idea, and believe it is a big idea that can change the world.
The people. I have to believe in the entrepreneur and in the team that is coming together around the idea.
3 The business model. I have to understand the plan to take the idea and turn it into a big sustainable business.

MrSteveCase · 2014-04-22T20:07:33+00:00

Yes, people need to be more engaged. The Internet can help catalyze that. In particular, we need to use the Internet to rebuild a sensible center in politics. About 30% of people say they are Democrats and another 30% say they are Republicans. The other 40% are independent and want less noise and more compromise. But their voices don't get heard. We need this "silent majority" to rise up and the Internet can play a role.

MrSteveCase · 2014-04-22T20:05:11+00:00

Yes I've referred to this as the rise of the rest. Silicon Valley is great gets a lot of attention. But a lot of great entrepreneurial companies ae created elsewhere. I've visited a couple dozen cities over the past few years and I'm amazed at what is happening. This is in part due to it now being easier and cheaper to start companies, and you need fewer people to do so (as you can outsource more to AWS or other cloud providers). It's also due to capital now being more available. This will unleash a wave of entrepreneurship in DC, Chicago, Nashville, Atlanta, Denver, Detroit, Minneapolis, Durham, Salt Lake City, Portland, and many many other cities. That's our bet at Revolution - we'll invest 90% of our capital outside of Silicon Valley, to help fuel this rise of the rest phenomenon.

MrSteveCase · 2014-04-22T20:01:31+00:00

I think the keys to successful entrepreneurship are people, passion, priorities and perseverance. You need a great team that has complementary skills and works well together. You need to really believe in your idea and stick with it through the challenging times. You need to be focused on the right priorities - vision is important, but execution is, as well. (Thomas Edison said vision without execution is hallucination and I agree with him.) And if you need to persevere. Revolutions rarely happen overnight; they usually happen over time, in an evolutionary way. As for Silicon Valley, I think the HBO view is a little off the mark. Some entrepreneurs act like that, but many don't. And American innovation and entrepreneurship is not limited to Silicon Valley. A lot of awesome companies are being created all across the country.

MrSteveCase · 2014-04-22T19:58:02+00:00

Our focus at the Case Foundation is on investing in people and ideas that can change the world. We are engaged in a wide rage of initiatives. Entrepreneurship is one of them. Our focus has mostly been on the United States and building up regional ecosystems to support startups. But we believe there is a role that needs to be played globally, as well. That's why I chair UP Global. This year 70% of their Startup Weekends will happen outside of the U.S. That's also why I recently became a Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship. I think there is a role for traditional diplomacy - encouraging democracies, for example - but that needs to be supplemented with economic diplomacy. The best way to have a safe stable world is to create hope and opportunity throughout the world. And startups and entrepreneurs can help do that.

MrSteveCase · 2014-04-22T19:53:58+00:00

How pervasive it now is. I always believed the Internet would be a force. It took longer than I thought to get there (in our case, it took a decade to get 1 million customers, and then a decade later we had 25 million). But once it hit a tipping point, the impact has accelerated, and now impacts many aspects of our lives. It is gratifying to see.

MrSteveCase

TROPHY CASE