Steve Case, New York Times bestselling author of The Third Wave
and cofounder of America Online shows how entrepreneurs across the
country are building groundbreaking companies, renewing communities, and
creating new jobs--reimagining the American landscape "and [giving] us
hope for America's future" (Ken Burns).
In 2014, Steve Case launched Revolution's Rise of the Rest, an
initiative to accelerate the growth of tech startups across the country.
Rise of the Rest is based on a simple idea: cities can be renewed and
rise again if they develop a vibrant startup culture. A visionary
entrepreneur himself, Case believes that great entrepreneurs can be
found anywhere, and can thrive with the proper support and investment.
In fact, they're key to the American DNA. After all, America itself was
a startup. It struggled to get going and almost didn't make it. Today
it's the leader of the free world, in part because it has the world's
largest economy--a testament to several generations of pioneering
entrepreneurs. But America needs help keeping its promises, as it is
harder today for innovators who live outside the major tech hubs. For
most of the past decade, seventy-five percent of venture capital has
gone to just three states--California, New York, and
Massachusetts--while the forty-seven states making up the rest of the
country have been forced to share the remaining twenty-five percent. And
it's even harder for some people no matter where they live. Less than
ten percent of venture capital currently goes to female founders, and
less than one percent to Black founders. Since new
companies--startups--are responsible for net new job creation, it is
essential that entrepreneurs everywhere have the opportunity to start
and scale companies. Rise of the Rest is about leveling the playing
field for everybody, and in the process creating opportunity and jobs
for the people and places that have been left behind. This book tells
that story and provides a hopeful perspective on the future of America.
In The Rise of the Rest: How Entrepreneurs in Surprising Places are
Building the New American Dream, Case takes readers on an exhilarating
journey into the startup communities that are transforming cities
nationwide. Rise of the Rest's signature road trips, on a big red tour
bus, have created significant local and national buzz and spotlighted
communities large and small that have committed to a new tech-enabled
future. Along the way, Case introduces readers to dozens of
entrepreneurs whose inspirational stories of struggle and achievement
match the most iconic examples of American invention.
To date, Case has traveled to forty-three cities on his Rise of the Rest
bus tour and has been featured on 60 Minutes, and in The New York
Times, USA TODAY, Fast Company, and The Wall Street Journal. With
dedicated venture funds, backed by an iconic group of investors,
executives, and entrepreneurs including Jeff Bezos, Eric Schmidt, Meg
Whitman, John Doerr, Sara Blakely, and Ray Dalio, Rise of the Rest also
invests in the most promising high-growth startups located anywhere in
the US outside of Silicon Valley, New York City, and Boston. The fund
has invested in more than 175 companies across more than eighty cities,
including: Phoenix, Chattanooga, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Louisville,
Baltimore, Columbus, St. Louis, Green Bay, Madison, Buffalo, Kansas
City, Minneapolis, Cincinnati, Miami, Dallas, Salt Lake City, Omaha,
Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Nashville, Indianapolis, New Orleans, and dozens of
others.
