Rise of the Rest rolls into Louisville

LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) – According to Steve Case, former AOL Time Warner chief, last year 75 percent of venture capital went to California, New York and Massachusetts. Kentucky got one percent.

Case brought his Rise of the Rest road tour to Louisville to give entrepreneurs in WAVE Country a shot.

"We need to figure out a way to make sure everybody is part of the economy of the future and backing entrepreneurs everywhere doing all kinds of things," Case said.

Case founded the $150 million Rise of the Rest seed fund.

The bus tour travels the country with investors in tow, touring businesses and talking with movers and shakers in the entrepreneurial community.

Friday, the Louisville tour started at Angel's Envy and made a second stop at Maker 13.

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"We have crafters, small businesses, and other people that have developed businesses here at the shop," John Riley of Maker 13 said. "It's a free open workspace for people to come in."

Case said last year 90 percent of venture capital went to men and less than one percent went to African Americans.

"The reality is, it does matter where you live and who you are. Rise of the Rest knows this and wants to give other entrepreneurs the tools to change it," Case said.  "[So they can] really have a shot at building a start up that's going to create the jobs that raise up the community and maybe change the world."

Rise of the Rest hosted a pitch competition Friday night at the Speed Art Museum where eight small businesses, entrepreneurs, and startups competed for $100,000.

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