93: Founder of AOL Steve Case Reveals How he Became a Billionaire & Changed The Internet as We Know it Today

The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan

To be a great entrepreneur, you need to have a great vision. Case in point:

Back in the 80s, we were just entering the internet age. At the time, it didn't really exist beyond a few government think tanks and laboratories, and we were only just beginning to understand what was possible. It was during that time that massive companies like IBM, Sears, Microsoft and Citigroup began investing millions of dollars into figuring out this internet business.

Despite all of the competition, in 1985, Steve Case and the team behind a fledgling startup named AOL rolled up their sleeves and helped shaped the internet into what we know it as today.

"When we started AOL in the United States, only 3% of people were online and those 3% were online only one hour a week. So it really was early days in terms of, it was still a niche hobbyist kind of market. I believed that someday it'd be a mass market, someday it'd be a mainstream market, someday it'd change how people got information, communicate, bought products and so forth."

It was that vision that they were building something for tomorrow that turned AOL from a small startup into the giant we know it as today.

In this interview you will learn:

• Why focusing on community is the best move a startup can make
• How to build for the future instead of building for what's happening today
• What it means to develop curiosity and why you need it to be a successful entrepreneur
• Exclusive insight into the early days of AOL and how they built a global brand
• How Steve judges a startup's disruptive potential when looking to invest
• & much more!