Steve Case wants to foster growing startup communities all over the world according to a report in The Washington Post. He's already committed to checking out some of the less well-known innovation cities in the U.S. as part of his "Rise of the Rest Road Tour" this summer, but now the former CEO of AOL will see about helping boost startups in cities outside the U.S. in a project called "Entrepreneurship Across Borders."
The project is a partnership with Up Global, the same non-profit working on the Rise of the Rest project. The project will start with a visit to Barcelona this Fall, bringing along other entrepreneurs who have either raised $2 million or grown the revenue of a startup to at least $1 million. During the trip, local startups will get a chance to meet with the visitors from the U.S. and talk about how to create the sort of innovation ecosystem Case wants to see the across the globe.
"This year, the program will pair 100 highly successful entrepreneurs--who have founded or led a company from an early stage--with one of 600 cities across the world where local UP Global organizers and volunteers are focused on helping current and future entrepreneurs," the project's website states. "Visiting entrepreneurs meet with local government leaders and company leaders, collaborate on improving the entrepreneurial ecosystem, provide mentorship to entrepreneurs, and bring learnings [sic] and expertise back to their home region."
The eventual goal according to the project's website is to "create 1,000 "thriving startup communities by the end of 2016."
Case has been pushing the idea of growing startup cities outside of the Silicon Valley hub for a long time, investing lots of money in time in the effort. In part he has said it's inevitable that they will rise so it's a good idea to get into investing with them now.
