The Exchanges

Q Well, it's a delight to have you, but I want to start today, and for those that maybe do not know, I'd love to kick off with, how did you make your way into the world of tech, and then come to BC Revolution today, Steve?

A Well, it was a little bit of a long and winding road. I started my career four decades ago, and I was interested in the idea of the internet, and after a few missteps, I ended up Co-founding America Online AOL in 1985, so what's that, 33 years ago, and that was the early days of the internet at the time. We started only three percent of people were online, and those three percent were online an hour a week on average, so it was pretty early, and I spent the next 15 or so years building that company, and then when we merged AOL with Time Warner, I stepped down as CEO and started making some investments and backing entrepreneurs, and then over the last 10 or 15 years have kind of ramped that up at Revolution. Now we have three groups here, an early stage seed group we call the Rise of the Rest Fund, a Revolution Ventures, kind of more of a Series A, Series B group, and then a little bit later stage kind of growth team we call Revolution Growth. So it's been fun. They evolved from being an entrepreneur myself to basically backing and trying to mentor and champion other entrepreneurs.

AI assessment note: “ended up Co-founding America Online AOL in 1985”

Q Can I ask a slightly out of there question, Steve? You mentioned the tour of the country, so to speak, in the, I think you said, 38 states that you've visited. Tell me, what's been some of the biggest learnings from seeing such a breadth of entrepreneurship and diversity of company? Have there been some core learnings from seeing such breadth?

A Well, first of all, it gives you a very optimistic view around innovation and around, you know, the United States, that there really are great entrepreneurs everywhere, building great companies everywhere. It is harder in these rise to rest cities. It's harder to raise capital. It's harder to attract the talent. It's harder to attract the media attention and tell your story. It's Sometimes harder to attract the attention of potential kind of business partners to scale your company, but there's no question there are great entrepreneurs that are doing super innovative things, and my overall view, and it ties in with the book The Third Wave I wrote a couple years ago, is in the third wave of the internet, you know, the first wave was getting everybody online, you know, companies like AOL. The second wave, the last 20 years or so, has been building software services, apps on top of the internet. Third wave is really integrating the internet in a much more seamless, Ways throughout our lives, really revolutionizing in pretty profound ways in industries like healthcare and food and agriculture and smart cities, things like that, that the, you know, the domain expertise and the credibility you have in those industries is going to matter. I don't think it's just going to be around the software. It's not going to be just around the coding. It's also going to be around how you partner wi…

AI assessment note: “there really are great entrepreneurs everywhere, building great companies everywhere.”

Q No, absolutely. I mean, you mentioned kind of the sheer quantum of capital that's moved into venture in both the number and the size of funds. I'm really interested. This supply of capital obviously has a knock on effect on pricing. You've been on both sides of the table as operator and investor. I'd love to hear. How do you think about price sensitivity today?

A Well, I think it varies a lot depending on where you're investing, and that's what leads us to this. We've spent time on the last four or five years, this rise of the rest initiative. You know, it's still shocking to me that in the United States last year, according to the NVCA that tracks us, 75% of venture capital went to three states. You know, California, New York, and Massachusetts, 50%. Half of America's venture capital went to one state. California. And most of that, as you know, to Northern California, sort of the greater Silicon Valley area. So in places like Silicon Valley, you do hear about obviously a great entrepreneur building great companies there. There continue to be great investment opportunities there, but there really is an excess of capital there. There are a lot of venture capitalists in that place, all chasing the same entrepreneurs. And in general, the evaluation of those companies are bid up as a result, as you'd expect. It's sort of a classic supply and demand And the rest of the country and the states that we visited and our Rise of Rest initiative so far, we've visited 38 cities, you know, by bus, 10,000 miles, and seen all parts of the country. You don't hear about excess capital or companies overvalued in places like Detroit or Pittsburgh or Phoenix or Albuquerque or Madison or Minneapolis or Des Moines or New Orleans, some of the cities that we've…

AI assessment note: “Well, I think it varies a lot depending on where you're investing”

Q No, absolutely. I mean, you mentioned kind of the sheer quantum of capital that's moved into venture in both the number and the size of funds. I'm really interested. This supply of capital obviously has a knock on effect on pricing. You've been on both sides of the table as operator and investor. I'd love to hear. How do you think about price sensitivity today?

A Well, I think it varies a lot depending on where you're investing, and that's what leads us to this. We've spent time on the last four or five years, this rise of the rest initiative. You know, it's still shocking to me that in the United States last year, according to the NVCA that tracks us, 75% of venture capital went to three states. You know, California, New York, and Massachusetts, 50%. Half of America's venture capital went to one state. California. And most of that, as you know, to Northern California, sort of the greater Silicon Valley area. So in places like Silicon Valley, you do hear about obviously a great entrepreneur building great companies there. There continue to be great investment opportunities there, but there really is an excess of capital there. There are a lot of venture capitalists in that place, all chasing the same entrepreneurs. And in general, the evaluation of those companies are bid up as a result, as you'd expect. It's sort of a classic supply and demand And the rest of the country and the states that we visited and our Rise of Rest initiative so far, we've visited 38 cities, you know, by bus, 10,000 miles, and seen all parts of the country. You don't hear about excess capital or companies overvalued in places like Detroit or Pittsburgh or Phoenix or Albuquerque or Madison or Minneapolis or Des Moines or New Orleans, some of the cities that we've…

AI assessment note: “Well, I think it varies a lot depending on where you're investing”

Q Well, it's a delight to have you, but I want to start today, and for those that maybe do not know, I'd love to kick off with, how did you make your way into the world of tech, and then come to BC Revolution today, Steve?

A Well, it was a little bit of a long and winding road. I started my career four decades ago, and I was interested in the idea of the internet, and after a few missteps, I ended up Co-founding America Online AOL in 1985, so what's that, 33 years ago, and that was the early days of the internet at the time. We started only three percent of people were online, and those three percent were online an hour a week on average, so it was pretty early, and I spent the next 15 or so years building that company, and then when we merged AOL with Time Warner, I stepped down as CEO and started making some investments and backing entrepreneurs, and then over the last 10 or 15 years have kind of ramped that up at Revolution. Now we have three groups here, an early stage seed group we call the Rise of the Rest Fund, a Revolution Ventures, kind of more of a Series A, Series B group, and then a little bit later stage kind of growth team we call Revolution Growth. So it's been fun. They evolved from being an entrepreneur myself to basically backing and trying to mentor and champion other entrepreneurs.

AI assessment note: “I ended up Co-founding America Online AOL in 1985... ramped that up at Revolution.”

Q dive in that I do have to pick up on and I'm always fascinated by is the element of kind of boom and bust. And you experienced boom and bust both as an operator in the early 2000 and then also as an investor in 2008. I have to ask, Steve, how do you think seeing that firsthand on both sides of the table impacted maybe your investing mentality today?

A I think, again, that history and perspective gives you a little bit more of an understanding that the trees don't always grow to the sky, and, you know, their market cycles and different dynamics gotta, you know, kick in. So obviously, anytime you make an investment backing any entrepreneur, you believe in the idea, you believe in the company, and you believe it's gonna be, you know, successful. but sometimes there's broader market dynamics that you can't really control. As you said, I lived through that with this first wave of the internet with AOL. We were the first internet company to go public in the 1992. We raised ten million dollars in our IPO. The market value that day was seventy million dollars. And seven, eight years later, when we were negotiating the merger with Time Warner, it had gone from seventy million to one hundred and sixty billion dollars. And it was the best performing stock of the decade. So You know, when nobody cared about the internet, nobody was investing in the internet, nobody believed in the internet. So by the end of that, you know, the nineties, everybody wanted to be part. It was kind of the internet gold rush. And that led to a mania where valuations did get ahead of themselves. And inevitably there was a crash, as you mentioned, decade or so later in, you know, because of the financial markets, more broadly, some issues around real estate, ot…

AI assessment note: “history and perspective gives you a little bit more of an understanding that the trees don't”

Q Can I ask a slightly out of there question, Steve? You mentioned the tour of the country, so to speak, in the, I think you said, 38 states that you've visited. Tell me, what's been some of the biggest learnings from seeing such a breadth of entrepreneurship and diversity of company? Have there been some core learnings from seeing such breadth?

A Well, first of all, it gives you a very optimistic view around innovation and around, you know, the United States, that there really are great entrepreneurs everywhere, building great companies everywhere. It is harder in these rise to rest cities. It's harder to raise capital. It's harder to attract the talent. It's harder to attract the media attention and tell your story. It's Sometimes harder to attract the attention of potential kind of business partners to scale your company, but there's no question there are great entrepreneurs that are doing super innovative things, and my overall view, and it ties in with the book The Third Wave I wrote a couple years ago, is in the third wave of the internet, you know, the first wave was getting everybody online, you know, companies like AOL. The second wave, the last 20 years or so, has been building software services, apps on top of the internet. Third wave is really integrating the internet in a much more seamless, Ways throughout our lives, really revolutionizing in pretty profound ways in industries like healthcare and food and agriculture and smart cities, things like that, that the, you know, the domain expertise and the credibility you have in those industries is going to matter. I don't think it's just going to be around the software. It's not going to be just around the coding. It's also going to be around how you partner wi…

AI assessment note: “there really are great entrepreneurs everywhere, building great companies everywhere.”

Q For sure. But speaking of kind of your investing there, when it comes to maybe revolution growth, I've heard you say before that your approach is reminiscent to the early days of venture. Can I ask Steve, in your mind, what does that really mean, and how does that impact your approach?

A Well, I should say, uh, it depends on the, as I mentioned before, the revolution has sort of these three different groups that are investing at different stages and are With different teams, and our mindset and our approach is a little bit different with each of them, but in general, the idea of what we're doing is a little bit of a throwback to the early days, even a half century ago, when venture capital really was emerging as an asset class. It's not something that's been around all that long. It's really, you know, 5060 years where it emerged, and in those early years, the venture funds tended to be, and the venture capitalists tended to be successful entrepreneurs who had experience as operators And we're investing money, but also time in the next generation of entrepreneurs and willing to kind of roll their sleeves and help those entrepreneurs take their ideas to scale. And so it was more of that operator mentality, that fellow entrepreneur kind of been on this journey before. And maybe some of the lessons I learned might be helpful to you as opposed to as venture capital has matured and it become obviously a very significant asset class. And now there's for a thousand venture funds. And they tend to be larger funds with more people. You know, some of those people bring some of that entrepreneurial mindset, that operating experience, but many don't. And so that's really w…

AI assessment note: “venture capitalists tended to be successful entrepreneurs who had experience as operators”

Q dive in that I do have to pick up on and I'm always fascinated by is the element of kind of boom and bust. And you experienced boom and bust both as an operator in the early 2000 and then also as an investor in 2008. I have to ask, Steve, how do you think seeing that firsthand on both sides of the table impacted maybe your investing mentality today?

A I think, again, that history and perspective gives you a little bit more of an understanding that the trees don't always grow to the sky, and, you know, their market cycles and different dynamics gotta, you know, kick in. So obviously, anytime you make an investment backing any entrepreneur, you believe in the idea, you believe in the company, and you believe it's gonna be, you know, successful. but sometimes there's broader market dynamics that you can't really control. As you said, I lived through that with this first wave of the internet with AOL. We were the first internet company to go public in the 1992. We raised ten million dollars in our IPO. The market value that day was seventy million dollars. And seven, eight years later, when we were negotiating the merger with Time Warner, it had gone from seventy million to one hundred and sixty billion dollars. And it was the best performing stock of the decade. So You know, when nobody cared about the internet, nobody was investing in the internet, nobody believed in the internet. So by the end of that, you know, the nineties, everybody wanted to be part. It was kind of the internet gold rush. And that led to a mania where valuations did get ahead of themselves. And inevitably there was a crash, as you mentioned, decade or so later in, you know, because of the financial markets, more broadly, some issues around real estate, ot…

AI assessment note: “It can give you that in a negative way, somewhat called the depression mentality.”

Q of rise of the rest cities where maybe they're not seeing the trash and they're not seeing the love that those in Silicon Valley or New York maybe do, and persistence is What do you kind of advise them in terms of that persistent mindset, that ongoing striving to achieve what they believe they can? What do you advise them when you see them and when you speak to them?

A Well, I tell them a little bit of my own story and the, and the story of those early days of AOL and the early days of the internet now seems obvious because everybody's connected, but in those early days, it was a real struggle. And, you know, there's several times where we almost hit the wall, almost went out of business. And for a decade, we were Talking about the promise of the internet, and most people kind of yawn. They just didn't see the potential. They just didn't believe in the idea of that, and so I learned there the importance of perseverance. If you have an idea, maybe you'll get lucky. Maybe it'll be an overnight success. Sometimes that happens, but far more often, it's a slog, and it's a decade before you kind of really break through, and through that experience, I now realize that, you know, a revolution sometimes happens in more evolutionary ways. The ultimate impact Can be transformative, but sometimes the path to get there is longer than you think and a little bit more circuitous than you think and often a little more frustrating than you think, but if you really believe in that idea, you really believe in that vision, you've got to stick with it and keep hammering away at it and never give up.

AI assessment note: “I tell them a little bit of my own story”

Q I look very forward to reading that. Tell me, Steve, I need your advice. I've just joined my first board. What would your advice be to me?

A Spend more time listening than talking and just trying to really understand the dynamics of the board, some of the challenges and opportunities of the company, and be more surgical in terms of ways you intervene. Sometimes the most helpful thing you can do is So an entrepreneur is to do nothing and wait for them to ask for advice. Sometimes if you do see something that you're either concerned about as a problem or see as an opportunity that maybe is not being tapped into, kind of focusing them on that makes sense. But in general, it's better to do a few things well and to figure out how you can really intervene in a way that maximizes the benefits to the company and minimizes any unintended consequences or downside kind of risks.

AI assessment note: “Spend more time listening than talking and just trying to really understand the dynamics”

Q Absolutely. I do have to ask, in terms of kind of market downturns, often people say in the investing world that it's those times when the best Companies are creative when we've looked back over history. Is that something that you maybe agree with, or do you maybe think otherwise?

A I think there is some of that dynamic in part because when there is a correction, there is a market pullback. When people go from being a little overly optimistic to being overly cautious, that does result in opportunities emerging, either entrepreneurs with ideas or valuations being lower, or it could be a mix of different factors, so there's no question there's that dynamic. Same time, you know, my experience now as both an entrepreneur Entrepreneur in the first couple of decades, and as an investor in entrepreneurs the last, most of the last couple of decades, there are great opportunities everywhere. There are great opportunities all the time, and so it, to me, is less about a market cycle and more trying to identify the ideas, the entrepreneurs that really can break out and be the next great successes. So I don't really look at the market cycles, particularly when we're looking at making new investments. I might, uh, when we're looking at As I just said earlier, in terms of is there an opportunity or might this be a good time for a company to be sold, or at least for us to kind of lighten our stake, because we think the valuation of a particular company is kind of a little bit ahead of sell. They might consider that, but in general, we think they're great entrepreneurs. We know they're great entrepreneurs that emerge every year, all over the country, all over the world. An…

AI assessment note: “I think there is some of that dynamic... Same time... there are great opportunities all the time”

Q of rise of the rest cities where maybe they're not seeing the trash and they're not seeing the love that those in Silicon Valley or New York maybe do, and persistence is What do you kind of advise them in terms of that persistent mindset, that ongoing striving to achieve what they believe they can? What do you advise them when you see them and when you speak to them?

A Well, I tell them a little bit of my own story and the, and the story of those early days of AOL and the early days of the internet now seems obvious because everybody's connected, but in those early days, it was a real struggle. And, you know, there's several times where we almost hit the wall, almost went out of business. And for a decade, we were Talking about the promise of the internet, and most people kind of yawn. They just didn't see the potential. They just didn't believe in the idea of that, and so I learned there the importance of perseverance. If you have an idea, maybe you'll get lucky. Maybe it'll be an overnight success. Sometimes that happens, but far more often, it's a slog, and it's a decade before you kind of really break through, and through that experience, I now realize that, you know, a revolution sometimes happens in more evolutionary ways. The ultimate impact Can be transformative, but sometimes the path to get there is longer than you think and a little bit more circuitous than you think and often a little more frustrating than you think, but if you really believe in that idea, you really believe in that vision, you've got to stick with it and keep hammering away at it and never give up.

AI assessment note: “Well, I tell them a little bit of my own story”

Q You mentioned the role of shock absorber there, and final question before we move into the quickfire. I have many guests on the show who say that the core role of a CEO is to manage and optimize management upscaling. Would you agree with that from your perspective and experience, and what would you say is the core role if not?

A Well, I think it's a number of things, and it depends on the stage of the company, but I think the founder, the leader, the entrepreneur, the CEO has to be the principal evangelist, the principal storyteller, really Understanding and putting what they're doing in a context that connects with other people and gets other people to believe in that vision and want to be part of that movement, whether it be people working for the company or potentially partners working with the company. So, you know, a lot of it is sort of setting that tone and setting that vision and creating a sense of possibility, a sense of momentum, hopefully even a sense of destiny. And then second, it really does come down to people, entrepreneurs, To visit is a team sport. Sometimes we over celebrate the founding entrepreneur or the CEO and every case it really is a team effort. So obviously the job of the leader of the CEO is to continually evolve that team and to build a team for the company. That's going to, you're going to have a year or two from now, not for what you have today. And so you always have to be understanding where you're going and trying to understand what the strengths and weaknesses of your team are now. And more importantly, what, Additional skill sets or perspectives are going to be necessary in the next chapter, and start putting the team in place in advance so that you're able to mana…

AI assessment note: “the CEO has to be the principal evangelist, the principal storyteller”

Q I look very forward to reading that. Tell me, Steve, I need your advice. I've just joined my first board. What would your advice be to me?

A Spend more time listening than talking and just trying to really understand the dynamics of the board, some of the challenges and opportunities of the company, and be more surgical in terms of ways you intervene. Sometimes the most helpful thing you can do is So an entrepreneur is to do nothing and wait for them to ask for advice. Sometimes if you do see something that you're either concerned about as a problem or see as an opportunity that maybe is not being tapped into, kind of focusing them on that makes sense. But in general, it's better to do a few things well and to figure out how you can really intervene in a way that maximizes the benefits to the company and minimizes any unintended consequences or downside kind of risks.

AI assessment note: “Spend more time listening than talking and just trying to really understand the dynamics”

Q For sure. But speaking of kind of your investing there, when it comes to maybe revolution growth, I've heard you say before that your approach is reminiscent to the early days of venture. Can I ask Steve, in your mind, what does that really mean, and how does that impact your approach?

A Well, I should say, uh, it depends on the, as I mentioned before, the revolution has sort of these three different groups that are investing at different stages and are With different teams, and our mindset and our approach is a little bit different with each of them, but in general, the idea of what we're doing is a little bit of a throwback to the early days, even a half century ago, when venture capital really was emerging as an asset class. It's not something that's been around all that long. It's really, you know, 5060 years where it emerged, and in those early years, the venture funds tended to be, and the venture capitalists tended to be successful entrepreneurs who had experience as operators And we're investing money, but also time in the next generation of entrepreneurs and willing to kind of roll their sleeves and help those entrepreneurs take their ideas to scale. And so it was more of that operator mentality, that fellow entrepreneur kind of been on this journey before. And maybe some of the lessons I learned might be helpful to you as opposed to as venture capital has matured and it become obviously a very significant asset class. And now there's for a thousand venture funds. And they tend to be larger funds with more people. You know, some of those people bring some of that entrepreneurial mindset, that operating experience, but many don't. And so that's really w…

AI assessment note: “it was more of that operator mentality, that fellow entrepreneur kind of been on this journey”

Q Absolutely. I do have to ask, in terms of kind of market downturns, often people say in the investing world that it's those times when the best Companies are creative when we've looked back over history. Is that something that you maybe agree with, or do you maybe think otherwise?

A I think there is some of that dynamic in part because when there is a correction, there is a market pullback. When people go from being a little overly optimistic to being overly cautious, that does result in opportunities emerging, either entrepreneurs with ideas or valuations being lower, or it could be a mix of different factors, so there's no question there's that dynamic. Same time, you know, my experience now as both an entrepreneur Entrepreneur in the first couple of decades, and as an investor in entrepreneurs the last, most of the last couple of decades, there are great opportunities everywhere. There are great opportunities all the time, and so it, to me, is less about a market cycle and more trying to identify the ideas, the entrepreneurs that really can break out and be the next great successes. So I don't really look at the market cycles, particularly when we're looking at making new investments. I might, uh, when we're looking at As I just said earlier, in terms of is there an opportunity or might this be a good time for a company to be sold, or at least for us to kind of lighten our stake, because we think the valuation of a particular company is kind of a little bit ahead of sell. They might consider that, but in general, we think they're great entrepreneurs. We know they're great entrepreneurs that emerge every year, all over the country, all over the world. An…

AI assessment note: “I think there is some of that dynamic in part”

Q No, I love that. Can I ask you a, maybe a personal question? You said there about kind of the tougher moments sometimes in the entrepreneurial journey. What were your coping mechanisms and how did you deal with the kind of hit the fan moment, so to speak, in the entrepreneurial journey?

A Well, I think it was a couple of things. I think at the core, I really early on locked into this belief, this passion, this conviction around the idea of a connected world. I really believe that someday, and again, I know it seems silly probably to a lot of people listening to this because they probably grew up with as digital natives, and this has all been part of their lives, and it's hard to imagine life without it, but in those, you know, early days, as I said, it was a struggle. I believed it eventually became It would happen. Eventually, the internet would become ubiquitous. The team we had shared that passion, shared that belief, so that gave us sort of the ability to stick with it and persevere. We just felt we were right on terms of the trend, you know, the idea, if you will. There was always, you know, light at the end of the tunnel. Granted, sometimes that light was flickering, and sometimes it seemed like people kept adding more tunnel, but we never gave up. We never lost that sense that somehow, some way, you know, this was going to eventually happen, eventually Connected world and interactive society, uh, the internet, uh, was going to be ubiquitous, and the second is, and I think it's probably more just my nature, I think I always have had a personality which was fairly even keel, that sometimes you have good days, sometimes you have bad days, sometimes there's r…

AI assessment note: “Well, I think it was a couple of things. I think at the core”

Q You mentioned the role of shock absorber there, and final question before we move into the quickfire. I have many guests on the show who say that the core role of a CEO is to manage and optimize management upscaling. Would you agree with that from your perspective and experience, and what would you say is the core role if not?

A Well, I think it's a number of things, and it depends on the stage of the company, but I think the founder, the leader, the entrepreneur, the CEO has to be the principal evangelist, the principal storyteller, really Understanding and putting what they're doing in a context that connects with other people and gets other people to believe in that vision and want to be part of that movement, whether it be people working for the company or potentially partners working with the company. So, you know, a lot of it is sort of setting that tone and setting that vision and creating a sense of possibility, a sense of momentum, hopefully even a sense of destiny. And then second, it really does come down to people, entrepreneurs, To visit is a team sport. Sometimes we over celebrate the founding entrepreneur or the CEO and every case it really is a team effort. So obviously the job of the leader of the CEO is to continually evolve that team and to build a team for the company. That's going to, you're going to have a year or two from now, not for what you have today. And so you always have to be understanding where you're going and trying to understand what the strengths and weaknesses of your team are now. And more importantly, what, Additional skill sets or perspectives are going to be necessary in the next chapter, and start putting the team in place in advance so that you're able to mana…

AI assessment note: “the CEO has to be the principal evangelist, the principal storyteller”

Q What would you most like to change about Silicon Valley and VC?

A I would say getting them on plane. You know, they talked about with the rise, the rest. I love Silicon Valley. I'm proud of Silicon Valley. It will continue to be the leading startup ecosystem in our country, I think, in the world, but Silicon Valley has gotten a little insular, sometimes a little cocky, and when I hear people say that essentially no breakout company, you know, no big, iconic, successful company can ever start outside of Silicon Valley, I think that's crazy, and so getting people to realize that, particularly in this third wave, being more of a just Dispersion of expertise, a dispersion of innovation, and some of the best investments will not just be in Silicon Valley would be my advice to them. And I realize there are interesting companies that are breaking out in other parts of the country and the other parts of the world, but still there are many who have the belief that all the smart people here, all the innovative entrepreneurs are here, all the capitals here, and Silicon Valley will continue to be dominant, which I would just remind them that a hundred years ago, Detroit, Michigan, best to Be a little bit more open-minded and, and, you know, and be more inclusive in terms of the kind of entrepreneurs that you're willing to back.

AI assessment note: “Silicon Valley has gotten a little insular, sometimes a little cocky”

Q No, I love that. Can I ask you a, maybe a personal question? You said there about kind of the tougher moments sometimes in the entrepreneurial journey. What were your coping mechanisms and how did you deal with the kind of hit the fan moment, so to speak, in the entrepreneurial journey?

A Well, I think it was a couple of things. I think at the core, I really early on locked into this belief, this passion, this conviction around the idea of a connected world. I really believe that someday, and again, I know it seems silly probably to a lot of people listening to this because they probably grew up with as digital natives, and this has all been part of their lives, and it's hard to imagine life without it, but in those, you know, early days, as I said, it was a struggle. I believed it eventually became It would happen. Eventually, the internet would become ubiquitous. The team we had shared that passion, shared that belief, so that gave us sort of the ability to stick with it and persevere. We just felt we were right on terms of the trend, you know, the idea, if you will. There was always, you know, light at the end of the tunnel. Granted, sometimes that light was flickering, and sometimes it seemed like people kept adding more tunnel, but we never gave up. We never lost that sense that somehow, some way, you know, this was going to eventually happen, eventually Connected world and interactive society, uh, the internet, uh, was going to be ubiquitous, and the second is, and I think it's probably more just my nature, I think I always have had a personality which was fairly even keel, that sometimes you have good days, sometimes you have bad days, sometimes there's r…

AI assessment note: “I think I always have had a personality which was fairly even keel”

Q And speaking of that evolution from operator to investor, Investor Brandfeld asks, how did you make that transition, and what were some of the core challenges in doing so?

A Well, it took a little while to figure out what I was going to do next after I stepped down as CEO, and I, you know, considered starting another company, but I was more intrigued with the idea of working with a number of different entrepreneurs doing a number of different things. I get some mix of, I'll be just curiosity, whether after doing one thing for a couple of decades, Being able to do multiple things across different, different, uh, obviously a lot of internet related tech related things, but also we've invested in food companies and hospitality companies and real estate companies, a variety of other things. And that to me has been kind of interesting, but the transition from being an entrepreneur, being an operator, kind of being the quarterback, you know, kind of calling the plays and running the plays to being a investor where you're, I guess, kind of one of the owners in the skybox. Occasionally kind of weighing in with different perspectives, but really not involved day to day. And I think the best venture investors really focus on helping in a few areas and kind of staying out of the way in most aspects of running the company.

AI assessment note: “transition from being an entrepreneur, being an operator, kind of being the quarterback”

Q Yeah, no, I'm very much with you on the execution weakness. I do want to finish though, Steve, on the next five years for you and for Revolution. What's that exciting roadmap ahead?

A Well, I think it's really goes back to the two themes we're talking about. I really do believe that this third wave of the internet, this next wave of innovations, we're going to require a different mindset. We're Partnerships are more important. Policy is more important. Perseverance is more important. And the companies we're backing at Revolution are doing interesting things really across our society, across the economy. So, you know, many different sectors and looking for the entrepreneurs who understand those opportunities and understand the playbook is different than sort of the second wave playbook is one. And the second, it really ties into this rise to rest. We believe we're onto something. We believe there is a great opportunity here. They said a great arbitrage here. We also think there's a, Real imperative that we back more people in more places so that good startups create most of the jobs, and we need to create jobs everywhere, not just on the coast. So it's both an investment strategy for us and also kind of a movement, and, you know, we know we have a lot of work to do, and hopefully over the next five years, we will be successful both in backing some of the most iconic third-wave entrepreneurs and also kind of getting more people to believe in the idea of the Rise and Rest and believe in backing entrepreneurs everywhere, and some of the companies that we're back…

AI assessment note: “hopefully over the next five years, we will be successful both in backing”

Q And speaking of that evolution from operator to investor, Investor Brandfeld asks, how did you make that transition, and what were some of the core challenges in doing so?

A Well, it took a little while to figure out what I was going to do next after I stepped down as CEO, and I, you know, considered starting another company, but I was more intrigued with the idea of working with a number of different entrepreneurs doing a number of different things. I get some mix of, I'll be just curiosity, whether after doing one thing for a couple of decades, Being able to do multiple things across different, different, uh, obviously a lot of internet related tech related things, but also we've invested in food companies and hospitality companies and real estate companies, a variety of other things. And that to me has been kind of interesting, but the transition from being an entrepreneur, being an operator, kind of being the quarterback, you know, kind of calling the plays and running the plays to being a investor where you're, I guess, kind of one of the owners in the skybox. Occasionally kind of weighing in with different perspectives, but really not involved day to day. And I think the best venture investors really focus on helping in a few areas and kind of staying out of the way in most aspects of running the company.

AI assessment note: “transition from being an entrepreneur, being an operator... to being a investor”