*By Carlo Versano*
Steve Case was, in many ways, ahead of his time when he co-founded America Online. As the CEO of 1990s tech giant, he helped pioneer the early framework for social media and was among the first executives to realize that a user-friendly internet experience based on social engagement would be attractive to early adopters.
His hunch was correct ー AOL's dial-up subscription model grew to a peak of 27 million users in 2002.
About twenty years and one [disastrous](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/15/business/dealbook/aol-time-warner.html) merger later, Case is using his status as a sort-of elder statesman of tech to reward the innovation taking place outside of Silicon Valley with his VC firm Revolution.
Speaking to Cheddar at Denver Startup Week on Monday, Case cited the Colorado city as a case study: 2 percent unemployment, a burgeoning and exciting technology sector, and a young population drawn to the mountain air.
Denver is so competitive that start-ups have trouble filling positions, he said.
"That's a nice problem to have."
Case's firm created the "[Rise of the Rest](https://www.revolution.com/entity/rotr/)" seed fund to direct VC money to innovative companies operating on the fringes. So far, the fund has made 90 investments in 50 cities from Minneapolis to Chattanooga, Tenn., to Des Moines, Iowa. Silicon Valley, Boston, and New York are deliberately excluded.
Three-quarters of venture capital funds overall still go to the coasts (Denver gets about 1 percent), though Case is trying to tip the balance by personally advocating for cities where he sees innovation happening. He has invested in several Denver-based start-ups over the years, including Exclusive Resorts and World Waters, make of WTRMLN WTR.
"Every big company starts as a start-up," he said. "Some of \[them\] will be the Fortune 500 companies of tomorrow."
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/revolution-ceo-makes-case-for-denver-as-start-up-hub).
Joe Cecela, Dream Exchange CEO, explains how they are aiming to form the first minority-controlled company to operate an exchange in U.S. history. Watch!
A Michigan judge is putting sponges in the hands of shoplifters and ordering them to wash cars in a Walmart parking lot when spring weather arrives. Genesee County Judge Jeffrey Clothier hopes the unusual form of community service discourages people from stealing from Walmart. The judge also wants to reward shoppers with free car washes. Clothier says he began ordering “Walmart wash” sentences this week for shoplifting at the store in Grand Blanc Township. He believes 75 to 100 people eventually will be ordered to wash cars this spring. Clothier says he will be washing cars alongside them when the time comes.
The State Department had been in talks with Elon Musk’s Tesla company to buy armored electric vehicles, but the plans have been put on hold by the Trump administration after reports emerged about a potential $400 million purchase. A State Department spokesperson said the electric car company owned by Musk was the only one that expressed interest back in May 2024. The deal with Tesla was only in its planning phases but it was forecast to be the largest contract of the year. It shows how some of his wealth has come and was still expected to come from taxpayers.
At 100 years old, the Goodyear Blimp is an ageless star in the sky. The 246-foot-long airship will be in the background of the Daytona 500 — flying roughly 1,500 feet above Daytona International Speedway, actually — to celebrate its greatest anniversary tour. Even though remote camera technologies are improving regularly and changing the landscape of aerial footage, the blimp continues to carve out a niche. At Daytona, with the usual 40-car field racing around a 2½-mile superspeedway, views from the blimp aptly provide the scope of the event.
