Steve Case
Steve Case
Stephen McConnell "Steve" Caseis an American entrepreneur, investor, and businessman best known as the co-founder and former chief executive officer and chairman of America Online. Since his retirement as chairman of AOL Time Warner in 2003, he has gone on to invest in early and growth-stage startups through his Washington, D.C. based venture capital firm Revolution LLC...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionEntrepreneur
Date of Birth21 August 1958
CityHonolulu, HI
CountryUnited States of America
Five or ten years ago, when it was clear the Internet was becoming a mainstream phenomenon, it was equally clear that a lot of people were being left out and could be left behind
The real magic in National Geographic isn't how much money they have left at the end of the year. It's the fact that through their overall focus they are reaching hundreds of millions of people and educating people about the world. It just happens to be done in a business-oriented kind of way that is more sustainable.
Today, National Geographic has a membership side with a magazine and some television side, and they generate about a billion dollars in revenue, and they're profitable. And so at the end of the year they have some bottom line profit which they can then reinvest, because they're running it as a not-for-profit in charitable endeavors.
I think it took us nine years to get one million subscribers to AOL, and then in the next nine years we went from one million to 35 million.
I'm probably never going to be satisfied with anything we do. I think there's always the possibility of doing better. And I'd say we're doing better than we were a year ago, in terms of delivery and quality of service, but nowhere near what we should be doing .
In less than a year Revolution has gone from being a concept to a reality, with three rapidly growing sector companies, overseeing a dozen acquired firms that collectively employ more than 2,500 people. But we're just scratching the surface in terms of the potential to build Revolution into a new kind of company that gives consumers more choice, control and convenience in the important aspects of their lives.
So we believed that strategic alliances and partnerships were critical, and we did that for five years.
Nowadays people seem to switch schools, either because they have to, and certain schools only serve certain grades, or because they move to a different place or have some particular interest, but I was in the same school for 13 years
I think it's now clear to everybody the Internet has arrived and everybody is talking about how to reinvent their businesses to take advantage of e-commerce, ... While many companies talk about this opportunity, no company is better positioned to take advantage of this situation than AOL.
We've learned the market functions a little differently in Europe.
Over the past twenty years, innovative entrepreneurs have been working to build a new class of companies that strive to do good as well as doing well. The success of companies like Whole Foods has demonstrated that ideas that once seemed on the margins are now becoming mainstream -- as consumers strive to make better choices, seek to do business with companies they respect, and buy products and services that promote a more balanced and sustainable lifestyle.
I strongly believe that AOL - once the leading Internet company in the world - can return to its past greatness. Over the past few months, I have been pleased to see a renewed focus on AOL at Time Warner, and the emergence of so many strategic alternatives.
Jon's hiring represents an important step forward for America Online and the entire company,
When I saw it, I really thought it could be more of a lifestyle brand, much like Nike.