Hardware Podcasts

AOL: Steve Case

How I Built This · 3 Apr 2017 · 32m

What this episode covers

Steve Case, founder of America Online (AOL), recounts the company's journey from a garage startup to a public giant, detailing early partnerships with Commodore, IBM, and Apple, and the pivotal decision to launch the AOL brand after the Apple deal collapsed. He explains how AOL democratized internet access through free CD-ROMs and community-focused features like chat rooms and the 'You've Got Mail' greeting, eventually leading to the historic merger with Time Warner. Case reflects on the cultural clash and execution failures of that merger, his subsequent pivot to venture capital via Revolution LLC, and the critical role of government policy in enabling the internet's growth.

Most relevant to

founders before launch, early-stage companies, companies scaling up and large enterprises

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
AOL, Control Video Corporation, Apple, Time Warner, Microsoft, Commodore, IBM, Revolution LLC
Products
You've Got Mail, Game Line, AppleLink, Windows

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