AOL was built on the backs of other businesses' failures.
And as former AOL executive Jean Case writes in her new book, "Be Fearless," the company's ability to pick up where others had left off was nothing short of brilliant.
Earlier in her career, Case worked at a company called The Source, which she describes as "a text-based information utility for consumers that featured early versions of email, conferencing, and content." While the service was unthinkably slow by today's standards, Case writes that the concept behind it "was a really powerful idea, democratizing access to information and communication."
