Steve Case, the co-founder of America Online, said technology start-ups in the "third wave" of the Internet will boost businesses in the Midwest.
Case has presented that idea for three years in the Rise of the Rest initiative, USA Today reported.
He said he feels he can help cities outside Silicon Valley and New York "to attract more media and attract more investor attention." He hopes technology can create "economic growth and jobs everywhere, not just in a few places," he told USA Today.
"Each city is different, but there are dynamics kicking in across all of them that are encouraging, and ultimately, will result in more start-ups in more places that will ultimately level the playing field, so everybody everywhere really does feel like they have a shot at the American dream," Case added.
"There are a lot of people who have a connection to these cities: they grew up there, went to school there, have some affinity and they'd rather live there and raise their families there."
The "third wave" of the Internet is about "integrating technology and the Internet in important aspects of our lives and disrupting big sectors of the economy," Case said.
Regional distribution is set to return, he said, pointing out that "Detroit 75 years ago was in essence Silicon Valley when the car was the hot technology of the day."
"As the third wave starts kicking in and industries like healthcare, energy, food and agriculture, and education and so forth become ripe for disruption, I think you will see the regional distribution happening again," he said.
Business start-ups "create most of the jobs." Doing so in the middle of the country could be a path to success, he added. "It is a way to help more people in more places and create a more evenly dispersed and geographically dispersed innovation economy, which I think is an important thing to try to accomplish as a country."
Branching out to new areas is key, he said. "What you do is back more entrepreneurs with crazy ideas in more places and in more sectors of the economy. Some of these things will end up surprising you … some of those people are going to have the ideas and the companies that end up being the next big successes."
"If you're not creating jobs, your community is going to fail," Case said June 27 in Kansas City, according to Startland. "If you care about education, the arts or whatever, you need to make sure that you're building a rising community that's attractive to people so they want to stay here, invest here and create companies here," Case added.
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