Steve Case has returned to his roots. He’s building again, pushing for innovation in stodgy industries much as he transformed Internet communications in his earlier life as co-founder and chief executive of America Online.  Joining Case in a couple of ventures is longtime friend and former AOL colleague, Ted Leonsis.

Talk about yin and yang.  I sat down with Case and Leonsis yesterday at the Washington, D. C. office of Revolution LLC, the private investment firm Case started in 2005. Ted is gregarious, impeccably groomed in a dark suit and all smiles because his dark horse NHL hockey team, the Washington Capitals, won the Southeast Division and will play in the Stanley Cup playoffs. He quips that Case once sent his annual review via instant message.  “He said, ‘You’re doing a good job. You can stay another year.’”

In title, Leonsis remains vice chairman, emeritus, of AOL.
Yet, his time there is winding down, seven years after AOL merged with Time Warner, an old-line media company, in a move that was ill-timed and later deemed a business bust. 

Five years have elapsed since Case served as chairman of Time Warner, and he has moved on.  At 49, he looks relaxed in a blue shirt, dark slacks, no tie. He is the more low key and introspective of the two. But there’s nothing low key about his goals: to create new platforms for consumer empowerment in such oligopolistic industries as health care and credit cards. “I thought it would be fun to start over again, back in the garage, if you will,” says Case. To learn more about their new business ventures and why these Northern Virginia residents think NOVA is a good place for startups, check out the June issue.