Co-founder of America Online, and now the existing CEO of Revolution; a venture capital firm, Steve Case is definitely defying the “You only live once” terminology. Or was it F. Scott Fitzgeral, who once said, “There are no second acts in American Life?” Of course, if Fitzgeral knew that people like Case exist in this world, he wouldn’t have made that statement.

Back in the early 90s, AOL was beginning to get popular. Soon it became a viral sensation. Though when the company was launched, while Steve Case was in his twenties, the AoL trend was something to be laughed at. Steve admits that during the “old” days, hardly a lot of people used AOL; in fact, they smirked at the idea of remaining online 24/7.

Always Aiming for the Fence – Steve Case Is Still a Unique Entrepreneur:

“You know, you’re only going to hit a home run if you really swing for the fences. And at Revolution we try to back the entrepreneurs that are swinging for the fences. But there is always going to be some risk associated with that.“

He has always aimed high; always looking for new vistas of success. In 1997, concerning the subject of AOL, Steve Case was strongly focused on only one mission, i.e. “to build an interactive medium to inspire people’s lives.” He sure stood by his words and showed the entire world what AOL was made of.

Today, Steve mentors young and upcoming entrepreneurs both in the online world and in the real life world. He is maintaining interest in more than 20 companies, with several investment portfolios going on for startup businesses. Already LivingSocial; a website that sells discounts and travel packages, restaurants and etc, is faring quite well under Case’s tutelage.

Likewise, Steve was a major investor in ZipCar; a car sharing company that was recently acquired by Avis. However, it wasn’t always all about making money and being successful for him. Case, like any other individual, overcame his share of obstacles. He faced failures; he agreed to making mistakes and rectufying his errors through innovative business strategies.

These days, Steve mentors as a motivational speaker at various platforms where he tries to teach youngsters about how not to repeat the same mistakes that he made as a business person.

And People Thought Steve Case was Crazy:

As an entrepreneur you have to keep your head high. You have to remained focus. Especially if you are your own boss, self motivation is something that you stronlgy need to rely on. I am an entrepreneur and frankly I have met great individuals in the online world, who have taught me more than I learned at the Business School

For instance, Ritesh Sarvaiya is one of the upcoming bright stars on the internet. Representing India, and more importantly Defencely; a unique niche cloud security platofrm, Ritesh is a firm believer in self motivation. No matter how much they laugh at you, it’s always you against your own fears. Face them with a strategy and you’ll overcome anything in life.

When we talk about Steve Case’s success as an icon at America Online, it was the same story. |During the 80s people thought the guy was crazy. “People thought we were crazy. Only 3 percent of people were online, and they were online on average about an hour a week. And so it looked to most people like a niche hobbyist market.”

It didn’t happen overnight, but soon there were millions of subscribers and internet surfers. Globalization happened and internet became what we call the World Wide Web community these days. Who’s laughing now? I bet Steve had the last laugh.

Right Here; Right Now – Still Kickin’:

Despite of the AOL and Timer Warner historic failure, Steve is still number 285 on the Forbes 500 list. He has a net worth of $1.4 Billion, but claims humbly that Forbes’ figures might be a little fuzzy. Whatever the exact figure is, we know for a fact the Case is still on the rise.

Case has pledged to part ways with most of his fortune, just like Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and several other big wigs of the industry. At 54, he is an internet stateman. “There are always going to be some bumps in the road. And having the passion, the perseverance to see it through and having a team of people that really share that passion and really willing to be in it to win it over the long run, I think, is critically important for building any great company.“

PS: A Vision without Execution is a Hallucination. Don’t forget that.