You might remember Steve Case. He was CEO of America Online and became a billionaire by selling subscription Internet access.

 

Now Case, 55, has come out of semiretirement to create Revolution, a Washington, D.C., venture capital fund that he says will become the largest startup investor east of the Mississippi River.

 

Case is no buzzword-dropping futurist. He’s practical, with a sharp eye for Main Street’s needs and, he says, “big ideas that are still small companies.” So it’s significant that his fund has bet most heavily so far on e-commerce startups. Its largest investment, $40 million, went to BigCommerce, a company that brings “Amazon-like capabilities” to any merchant.