The Third Wave: An Entrepreneur’s Vision of the Future

Abstract

Steve Case The Third Wave: An Entrepreneur's Vision of the Future Simon & Schuster, 2016, $18.18 (hard cover), 211 pagesthe third wave covers the challenges faced and lessons learned at the earliest stages of the public internet buildout (the first wave), and proposes that these lessons will be uniquely instructive to entrepreneurs who are currently at the cusp of the third wave-the Internet of Everything. It is not academic work, targeted instead at bookstores' business section.The value of the book is in the first-hand perspective that the author brings- insight from an insider who was "there at the origin." Steve Case is a recognizable name to anyone familiar with the early days of internet growth. He began his professional career in the early 1980s, at the same time that PCs and computer connectivity were becoming available to the public. After a string of startup failures, and being stung in a relationship with Apple, the firm he was with changed its business model and launched the America Online (AOL) dial-up service. With the explosion of public demand for internet access, AOL grew at an incredible rate and was worth, at one point, well over $100 billion.The book chapters are organized in a way that interleaves Case's personal history with his admonitions and projections for the future. The first two chapters cover his early years. Chapter 3 gives a concise overview of how the Internet of Everything might impact healthcare, education and food. Chapter 4 takes us to AOL's early history and with Chapters 5, 6, and 7 we get advice for aspiring entrepreneurs and warnings for existing firms on the opportunity and danger from the emerging third wave. Chapters 8 and 9 tell about AOL's peak, merger with Time Warner, and subsequent decline. The book finishes with the author's thoughts about government's role and then gives general and broad recommendations to multiple audiences.Case's hypothesis is that the lessons of the early internet will directly address the unforeseen challenges that will inevitably arise for pioneers of the coming third wave. His speculation focuses on two conceptions: the level of disruption that will occur and the essential role of government. He links these ideas to the need for partnerships and preparedness. He purports that while founders in the second wave (those riding on the buildout success of the first wave; e.g. Facebook, eBay, Amazon) could succeed with a few talented engineers working alone, those in the first wave could not have been successful without partnerships and coordination spanning many firms. Crucially, the third wave will parallel the first. He states that the level of disruption in the coming third wave will be so great that larger institutions, including government, will and must be involved.During the third wave, a great product will only get you so far. That's because most third wave industries have gatekeepers. …