Producers’ Pick | Steve Case

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This week the rise of the rest how entrepreneurs in surprising places are building the new American dream. Steve welcome good to be back with Brianna.

Great to see you in person doing the book the rise of the rest status is not in knowing that a great title save the program that you this was that really drove you for last decade to travel around the country trying to understand what's happening different parts of the country admitted bus tours to the cities like Pittsburgh and Nashville Minneapolis in Phoenix and Dallas in the morning all, the country just trying to see what's happening because her so much focus these days on the tech sector, and so much of focus on this place like Silicon Valley innovations happening all across the economy and skull happening all across the country.

But there's not much focus on those entrepreneurs. Not much focus on those cities and that's why I wrote the book up to make a pretty optimistic view of what's happening in America is not really getting reported on because there's so much focus on the media on the on the big cities and even on the on investors. The venture capitalist 75% of the venture capital last decade has gone to just three states. California New York Mets to 75% and some other states, whether big big big states like Texas or Illinois or Dora Florida or even somewhat smaller stakes like graph, so there were a Highlanders, they get brittle venture capital has resulted onto burrs there get very low opportunity start companies and as result of his community don't get a lot of job creation. So we have to create more jobs and more places in the best way to do that.

My opinion is the back more new companies therefore backing the Oscars. And that's why wrote the book to you brought the money and investment to them rather than making them come to New York Los Angeles to Washington. The Elliott say that there has been for last several decades.

Kind of a brain drain in parts of the country were people who want to be part of the tech sector. The startup economy generally felt they had to leave where they were because there wasn't much focus on startups there and that that led people to typically go to coast often is taught Silicon Valley or try to do is slow the brain drain people leaving for better opportunities and create a boomerang of people returning because their unbelievable opportunities in the cities, as there they build up their startup communities as there is more capital there to back those locks.

As you see more jobs being being created there as I get the broader societal impact. We also figured if we were able to prove that investing in an entrepreneurs in these places can generate top-tier returns for investors that will lead others at investors on the coast to start paying attention to the arch mirrors in the in the middle of the country that is now starting to happen.

The pandemic actually been helpful and that frankly it's sort of a little bit of the tipping point in terms of travel, the image of the Mr. Mr. innovator who is coming to New York City medical refi. My dream know we have allowed to is nothing happen there anyway so then all of a sudden made we get to stay here in an audio into things after one is what is the investors in places like Silicon Valley because of the pandemic. Suddenly, instead having in person meetings with entrepreneurs had zoom meeting for lunch burrs. They realize when I have assumed meeting. The entrepreneur doesn't really matter that entrepreneurism mile away, or a thousand miles away. Open up the eyes of a lot of investors to the fact there are great aunt rebuilding companies everywhere. The other thing that happened is some people in those places would be here in New York or San Francisco or other other places in the early part of the pandemic. So you know what relevant stay here. I think I'm a move somewhere else. Either moving home or moving to some other place to it and it is in fact, to work remotely and acted somewhere else I'd rather live and allows people decide to stay there and now you're starting to see some of those people move into the start up economies and those in those cities.

I think this bodes well for you. What can happen over the next decade that we have to figure out ways to create more opportunity for more people in more places we can't just back a few people in places like California and not lunch burrs all across the country and what did you find because you do have. This credibility is one of the most successful engineer was ever and you really have more responsibility for creating the Internet. There may be anybody else on the planet.

And you know that he did a very young age, yet you did not have any connections born in the why you aren't born with the budget you your uncles and aunts weren't CEOs of major corporations, so your life story cells. This program, you know I my life are growing up in a hole in Hawaii at the time actually how I was in the state became a state of my first birthday and how I was gone out about the art relieving of television programs.

A week later because the satellite technology hadn't developed so it is felt a bit out of that with the college semester since I worked in Ohio that I worked in Kansas the night you worked and moved to Virginia and that's really restarted AOL authorities seven years ago as, lonely place outside of Washington DC was in the startups that either one nor the venture capital.

There were a lot of people focused on on startups.

I think that experience of starting a company and struggling a little better to get people to pay attention to get investors to believe in what we're doing think that is part of the reason I feel this empathy is passion to support the next generation of entrepreneurs and and do it in and in cities all across the country so with our riser rest fund that we've invested in 200 companies in 100 different cities all across the nation to some amazing companies and one in Chattanooga Tennessee called freight waves built this data platform, to Bloomberg for for the trucking industry.

I did know the story there on a bus, but the biggest trucking companies America or in Chattanooga some quarters that's inevitably overrunning boss Jan, the boss Eugene know we we asked around eight years ago is there and hit the road. See America and and the redundant number of these tours and when we go to these different different cities.

We really start time six months really before we get there. Try to understand what's happening more than average writing connect other people in the community. Inspire them to focus more on entrepreneurism your pitch competitions were invested in at least one soliciting chart think that the campus was target exactly start take with with that with you but to bring the community together to support their startups and bring the nation together to understand that there are interesting things happening in different parts of the country and the only actions not just in the big cities like New York, Boston, San Francisco even invest in your fund that allowed you to invest in others. I was made to grow by about 35 on some of the most prominent individuals in the country at large birds like Jeff Baeza and Howard Schultz and Tory Burch and Sarah Blakely and private equity investors like Henry Kravis and David Rubenstein had fun. People like Ray Dalia venture capital investors like John Doering and Jim Jim Breyer and Seth some families like the Cope family and the Walton family the Pritzker family so we really tried to reach out and say join us on this mission there. Great aunt everywhere there grading companies everywhere than recruiting jobs everywhere that are creating opportunities everywhere, and we think by backing them with investment capital. We can help them scale and they'll be more successful, will generate great returns and will also have a positive impact on those communities, particularly by creating jobs and a lot of places that have been struggling because the innovation economy is often we don't have left them behind.

You mention the company in Chattanooga and have some other, it doesn't that's I wrote the book. After spending a decade doing this.

I'm am so excited by the stories we were hearing from the companies from the from the cities is is that most people don't know what's going on thereafter write this book and share this with that with the world by will give each other examples in Eastern Kentucky others Oscar Jonathan Webb who who grew up there.

But then we moved onto the coast and decided to move back to start a company focused on farming called Apple harvest and he built now. What's the largest indoor green house in the country and it uses 90% less water so it's it's good good for the environment and icing about where they're located outside of the Lexington is 70% of the US population is when a 24 Hour Dr. so it's actually easy to get the fruits and vegetables to different different markets and as you know, that at area which is known as, Appalachia coal country is headed struggled for less than several decades on the industries they relied on and were were in decline. Jonathan's wrap harvest concrete 500 jobs in an area that most people didn't really think had that same possibility or in Richmond, Virginia as a company we backhauled temper packets working on sustainable packaging on the ground quite that significant hundreds of employees now just raised a big round led by Goldman Sachs over hundred million dollars and they actually started in New York City when they were start to build their manufacturing plant for this is packaging decided to move to the whole company to do, not Richmond Virginia so that's another example is also story in and outside Indianapolis suburban Indianapolis is a mom who had some experience in the tech sector and this is after the Flint water crisis years, concern likely maybe my kids are there.

Water is unsafe. She called the water companies that I want my water tested this, we don't do that for for individual people and if you call somebody else's and will do that though, because you thousands of dollars to do that… This is crazy and started a company called 120 water to initially offer families the ability to have their water tested.

Now she's telling that capability cities including cities like San Francisco, so was somebody who saw a problem this will not reduce the while they see a problem and they do something about it. They do something about it by starting a company that the news here is you don't have to just be in a certain places like Guy California start a company can start a company anywhere serve your out there and have some idea. Hopefully this book will give you a roadmap to the top to take that from idea to reality and attract the capital you need attract the team you need attractive. We went to see in order to get to get your company to invest in the wild. First, all we partner with now with over 300 regional investment firms, so we work with them all because of never try to do this all across the country so a lot of the opportunities come from those investors that that that say did you find it. Sorry for the same question of the rich business back where you do, do you find there the investment firms in the smaller areas in the northern Virginia to the world in Kansas and you come in to help the investment firm find the entrepreneur well it's changing and it's a great question because a decade ago. Generally, in most parts the country. There wasn't much of the scalp mention even my my own experience in northern Virginia were starting America Online. There wasn't a venture capital but that's changing over the last decade 1400 new investment firms focused on startups have been launched. All across the country in what we call these fries are a cities which meet outside of samples outside of New York outside of Boston outside of the big backup, so now there is more money there for those early investment seed investments and so forth. There was before. So the entrepreneur is there. They have an idea how more about the capability of raising the Ultimate to scale up. They don't have to move to a place like California to do that they could stay where they are. Start where they are and and figure out ways to tap into the unit. The startup community that existence and dozens and dozens of cities and we profiled them in this book are you tapping innovation or you hoping to inspire entrepreneurs to innovate because you understand fundamentally. That's what made our country great people that had that can-do attitude to make a difference in why not me you weary on some level that we were losing that and you feel a part of your mission is to uncover that and reignite that yeah absolutely I actually start the book.

The first chapter the book talks about America about to celebrate his 250th anniversary Nori Mary Jellinek 210 evaluates on an as yet another chair of the Smithsonian Institution and so in and wash and we are 19 museums and work on the planning for the 250th which is four years now that's our kick off the books, reminding people that 250 years ago. America itself was a startup. It was a fragile country that almost failed that everybody wanted to fan most people around the world thought it was a joke must lead just as many's people look at startups and think now that that's not gonna work most bill did not think America is going to work on America work. Why all in part because the entrepreneurs, led the way to hundred years ago with the agricultural revolution that led the way 100 years ago with the Industrial Revolution, and more recently led the way with the technology revolution.

That's what one from this fledgling startup nation to the leader of the free world because we have the leading account because we been the most innovative nation but we are seeing kind of a globalization of innovation that you look at venture capital data 25 years ago. Over 90% of venture capital globally was invested in the United States.

Now it's under 50%. So many other countries Odyssey China being the one but there are many other countries are trying to lead in the technologies of the future of the industry in the future, so we need to double down on our entrepreneurs.

We have to do that everywhere. We can't just keep backing the people just in places like Silicon Valley or Boston.

We have to document people all across the country and that's why what the but I do want to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs.

I do want to inspire people in those communities to support those entrepreneurs and I do believe if we are more inclusive in reaching these places that often have been left behind in the last 10 or 20 years in terms of capital and innovation and that will maximize the likelihood America continues to date and also could help unify divided country by closing at least in part, this opportunity gap were a lot of people, feel left out left behind. How do we create the jobs for them so they can be part of the future.

Absolutely CK suggest we come back this question. China is taken away the profit more a murder motive. They've also squelched a lot of individualism will that hurt their innovation in the future. To me, the answer is yes. Was he was Steve K says as he comes back continues to talk about his brand-new book, the rise of the rest back in a moment your knowledge base. Brian fill me show precise personal power. So is America's losing in the palm of your hand to Fox weather updates throughout your busy day and subscribe and listen now and Fox News time just done, for wherever you get your podcasts on a talk show. That's real is that Brian kill me show the cases where this is cofounder America cofounder America online reports revolution and New York Times best-selling author's latest book is the rise of the resto entrepreneurs in surprising places are building the new American dream CBW so multifaceted. First off as we come up on our 250th anniversary of our country.

Are you getting concerned that the average American doesn't appreciate how special while not being perfect this country is the guy that does a lot of focus on challenges the problems, what's was not going right which I think is, understandably, need some of that coming up with got me out of it anymore. The focus on the things that that really are the reason that Merrick are special and in unique and that's part of why getting wrote the book on right throughout the good part of that story is the entrepreneurs that have helped build the country and then the nuance personalities. Rather, a cities that are current building. The next chapter of the American story and doing it by integrating in healthcare and food, and financial services and transportation and doing it all across the in the country said a lot of great things about this country that sometimes we and we forget and hopefully this that this occult or if it is not bad stuff out there in terms of inflation in Ukraine and all his other stuff which I don't want to make light on opposite. Are there issues you book is meant to be an optimistic view of yes or America right and if you think that our founding fathers knew multifaceted natural choice was just wasn't just a general. Thomas Jefferson wasn't just the first Secretary of State.

I mean they were multi-fascinated to learn to do every and Benjamin Franklin great inventor great entrepreneur yeah well is that being a great patriot when you had so much success orally is that a difficult challenge.

In retrospect, when you have all the success in you and you still have two thirds of your life straight ahead. Did you have to read was that something that needed to. You had to take time to wrap your head around a little bit all the rides I would say like my own story was a story of struggle for more than a decade before Ayla was successful, how old were you when the when I restarted Congress. I was 25 but it was probably not till I was 35 but think I took off that we went we went public with first Internet public company to go public with 1992, so 30 years ago and when we went public.

We raise $10 million in her IPF only had 200,000 customers value a company like $70 million and really nobody knew or cared about Ayla never cared about the Internet, received a set of his friends. The obvious thing that would never be mainstream and a decade later. It wasn't long was driving a phase 10 anointed customers, but but as a result I I think it if that struggle was helpful to me. It was not an overnight and now you pass it on.

The rise of the rest will pick it up and please find out. Entrepreneurs surprising places are building the new American dream. Thank got mail with the power of over 100 meteorologists and the worldwide resources a fox in your hands. Fox weather podcast precise personal powerful subscribe and listen now and Fox News digests.com or wherever you did your