Episode description

If it weren’t for Steve Case, the internet may never have become part of our everyday lives. He is the co-founder of AOL, after all. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Steve’s search for excellence. 

As one of the most important entrepreneurs in the last hundred years, Steve is driven by a mission to create entrepreneurial opportunities in surprising places as a means to close the opportunity gap. Since 2003, he’s invested in more than 500 companies and his contributions have influenced the lives of hundreds of millions of people, if not billions of people around the world.

In this episode, Randall and Steve discuss whether someone can learn to be an entrepreneur or does they have to be born with the gene, the importance of failure and our ability to overcome it, the role entrepreneurs play in creating jobs, why innovation is key when starting a company, and so much more.

Topics include:
-The digital revolution
-Raising venture capital
-Establishing partnerships
-The Attacker/Defender dynamic
-Characteristics of great entrepreneurs
-Closing the opportunity gap
-How to identify promising entrepreneurs
-Mistakes to avoid when looking for funding
-Philanthropy and The Giving Pledge

Steve Case is one of America’s best-known and most accomplished entrepreneurs and a pioneer in making the Internet part of everyday life. Steve’s entrepreneurial career began in 1985 when he co-founded America Online (AOL). Under Steve’s leadership, AOL became the world’s largest and most valuable Internet company, driving the worldwide adoption of a medium that has transformed business and society. At its peak, nearly half of Internet users in the United States used AOL.

Steve’s passion for helping entrepreneurs remains his driving force. He was the founding chair of the Startup America Partnership—an effort launched at the White House to accelerate high-growth entrepreneurship throughout the nation. He is also a Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship, was the founding co-chair of the National Advisory Council on Innovation & Entrepreneurship and a member of President Obama’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness where he chaired the subcommittee on entrepreneurship.

Books mentioned:
The Rise of the Rest, by Steve Case
The Third Wave, by Steve Case
The Third Wave, by Alvin Toffler

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