COLUMBUS, Ohio — They seem an odd couple. J. D. Vance, author of “Hillbilly Elegy,” his best-selling memoir of growing up in the postindustrial Midwest and his journey of escape. And Steve Case, the billionaire co-founder of America Online.
But Mr. Vance joined Mr. Case’s investment firm this year to scour the Midwest for small yet promising start-ups, particularly for a new seed fund. The firm, Revolution, plans to raise up to $100 million for that fund’s investments, it disclosed in a filing last month with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Image: A presentation, left, that is part of a Rise of the Rest tour at the Idea Foundry, an innovation center in a former factory in Columbus, Ohio. Since 2014, the Revolution venture group has sponsored the tours to encourage start-ups in the middle of the country. Credit Maddie McGarvey for The New York Times
