I worry that the last wave of innovation in America has been limited to a few people in a few places. 75% of venture capital has gone to just three states, California, New York and Massachusetts. 50% of this country is women, female founders get less than 10%. Black Americans are 13% of the population. They get less than 1% of venturecapital. It doesn't matter what you look like. If you have an idea, whether you really have a shot of creating a company, a shot of the American dream. That's what we're trying to deal with with the rise, risk, create more opportunity for more people in more places.
Kara and Steve Case go back — way back, to the 1990s. She was a young Washington Post reporter covering a new thing called “the Internet” … and he was a co-founder of the company that became AOL. In this conversation, they take a walk back through time to look at how far the world has come and where tech companies have stumbled or fallen flat. They discuss Case’s new book, “Rise of the Rest,” which offers an optimistic future for the expansion of entrepreneurship and innovation beyond a handful of places like Silicon Valley, Boston and New York City. They also discuss whether a more equitable distribution of economic growth is possible, given some of the nation’s political divides — and potential solutions for bridging those divides.
Before the interview, Kara and Nayeema talk about the newsmakers of the day, including Theranos founder, Elizabeth Holmes, who is seeking a new trial, and the deep pockets of “anti-woke” investors in Silicon Valley including, of course, Peter Thiel. As always, Kara offers unsolicited advice.
Do you want some (solicited) advice from Kara? Call 1-888-KARA-PLZ and leave a message.
You can find Kara and Nayeema on Twitter @karaswisher and @nayeema.
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