Steve Case
The Third Wave: An Entrepreneur’s Vision of the Future
ISBN: 978-1-5011-3259-9
At this point, I’ve read a fair number of books by successful entrepreneurs who have exited their companies, now worth enormous sums of money. All of these books contain some sort of retelling of history through the eyes of that entrepreneur. Many of the books have advice – where current and future entrepreneurs should focus their energy. There’s usually a decent amount of “armchair quarterbacking” from these startup titans turned authors. By the end of the book, there’s usually a chapter or two predicting the future.
However, the character of the author isn’t made by the book itself – it’s made through what the author does outside the pages of the book. Steve Case, author of The Third Wave: An Entrepreneur’s Vision of the Future sticks to the standard list common to nearly all books on startups aimed at entrepreneurs. The book is an easy read, just a few hours including interruptions from the kids and from phone calls. However, Case’s actions beyond the covers of the book highlight his commitment to the American entrepreneurial scene, through his Rise of the Rest tour and his investment firm, Revolution.
For those who may not be familiar, the Rise of the Rest tour highlights startup communities throughout the United States beyond the confines of Silicon Valley, New York City, and Boston. Most of the places he’s visited receive little to no attention from investors and the elites in the entrepreneurial sphere. Case has spent the last few years showcasing the center of the country, and the coasts are starting to take notice. He has put into action the “three Ps” that he highlights in The Third Wave: Partnerships, Policy, and Perseverance – partnerships with local, state, and federal entities; policy through working with different levels of government; perseverance by setting out on multiple Rise of the Rest tours.
The three Ps seemed to be Case’s mantra during his work that eventually led to America Online in the 90s. The road to success was littered with iterations and pivots, but Case and his team stuck with it, even through the disastrous merger with Time Warner. It was fun to read through the story of AOL – a bit of a trip down memory lane, as someone who came of age in the mid and late 90s, the same time the Internet blossomed. You are a rare individual if you didn’t have some sort of contact with America Online in the final years of the 1990s, either as a user or someone who received dozens of trial CDs in the mail (they made great coasters!)
In a few places, Case went a bit heavy on the second P – policy. My personal view is to work around stupid policy rather than trying to confront it. Many of tech’s largest companies operate this way – they don’t ask for permission now, they ask for forgiveness later. Perhaps in the future, lawmakers will understand the importance of new technology and entrepreneurship, and wisely decide to stand out of the way.
Overall, 7/10, would recommend to entrepreneurs who would like to take a trip back to a simpler time, before online video was commonplace and images loaded one line at a time. Also, for entrepreneurs who need a good pep talk when things seem impossible – successful companies of years past have had rough spots and down days, because it happens to the best of us.