Detroit 12

Steve Case, CEO of Revolution LLC and Josh Linkner of Detroit Venture Partners talk to Techonomy founder David Kirkpatrick about the critical role of entrepreneurship in America, especially in cities like Detroit. Read excerpts from the discussion below, or download the full transcript. Case: I appreciate the fact that Techonomy is shining a spotlight on Detroit. In many ways, Detroit was Silicon Valley 50 years ago. This was the epicenter of innovation. It’s had a tough few decades. But it’s fighting its way back. It’s really the story of entrepreneurship in America and how it is spread more broadly through the nation than we sometimes realize. Silicon Valley is the epicenter of enormous innovation and tremendous companies—it’s something we’re all proud of. But there are also a lot of companies across the nation that don’t get as much attention. If we’re going to get our economy back as a nation and get our unemployment down, the place to focus is entrepreneurship. We didn’t become the leading economy by accident. It was the work of entrepreneurs creating companies and industries throughout the nation. That it is sort of a secret sauce that built the American economy. We have to double down on entrepreneurship in Detroit and Cleveland and St. Louis and Denver and a lot of other places. Linkner: We have to scream from the mountaintops that Detroit is open for business. This is a great place to build a tech company. We still have a lot of work to do to get that message heard,...