More start-ups, especially in flyover country, can improve U.S. economy, entrepreneur says

Flyover Country—considered to be areas, mostly in the Midwest, that are flown over by airlines between hubs—could be the future of rising entrepreneurs in the U.S., writes Steve Case, chairman and CEO of Revolution and co-founder of AOL, for The Washington Post.

Case writes that over the next decade, innovation and investment will accelerate in flyover country for five reasons: advancements in technology, increased mobility, lower cost of living, local support and greater access to capital. He writes, "In this next wave we will see revolutions in health, education, energy and food—but they’ll likely happen in evolutionary ways."

But the U.S. needs the entire country to continue to excel, Case writes. "In order for America to remain the leader of the free world, it must have the largest and most robust economy—and that requires that it continue to be the most innovative and entrepreneurial nation. That will enable us to maintain our global lead—but also enable us to grow our economy faster and create more jobs—particularly good middle class jobs."

"To achieve this, we can’t rely on just a few regions—we need all 50 states to support start-ups, so we will have a broadly dispersed innovation economy," Case writes. "That means civic leaders and business leaders (even in major companies) and citizens in cities and towns across the country need to get involved. They need to support the agenda of connecting colleges to communities; of building great STEM programs in our schools; of passing comprehensive immigration reform." (Read more)