Building Stronger Communities Starts at Home
At Formula 50, we spend a lot of time thinking about growth not just in business, but in the communities that make those businesses possible. We talk about startups, funding, scaling…all the usual buzzwords, but none of it matters if we’re not investing in the places we live.
That point hit home recently during a breakfast with Indiana’s Governor Braun. The conversation centered on opportunity specifically, the kind that’s already here. He talked about how much energy goes into chasing outside companies with big incentives to move to the state, when so many of our own communities are sitting on untapped potential.
We see that every day. Local entrepreneurs who just need a small push. Towns full of people ready to work, but with main streets that are half empty. In too many places, the resources flow toward the next big headline instead of the steady builders already putting in the effort.
Supporting What’s Already Here
Governor Braun talked about how 70 percent of Indiana’s counties are seeing population declines. That’s not a statistic, that’s real people leaving small towns that used to be thriving. The easy answer is to bring in new factories or outside employers, but the smarter answer might be to rebuild from within.
He mentioned one example that stuck with us: a small town called Remington, Indiana, a community of about 2,000 people. Three local businesses there, including a seed company, a pallet manufacturer, and Farm Buildings Inc., have quietly built something incredible.
One family in particular stepped in when their local grocery store was on the verge of closing. Instead of watching it happen, they underwrote the fresh-meat section themselves — literally said, “If it doesn’t sell, we’ll cover the cost.” That one decision kept neighbors shopping locally instead of driving to Lafayette, and it kept a sense of pride alive on Main Street.
They didn’t stop there. They helped restore old buildings, turned a train-station shell into a small event center, and worked with the mayor to plan a subdivision with water and sewer ready to go — all because they believed in the town’s future. That’s not a big-budget economic plan; that’s people deciding to stay and build.
Why It Matters
We think about that kind of leadership a lot. It mirrors what we believe at Formula 50 that real progress doesn’t always start with a pitch deck or a new fund. It starts with people deciding that this place still matters.
Governor Braun’s openness to hearing new ideas made that breakfast different from most political talks. He wasn’t just checking boxes; he was asking for solutions. He even connected one of our members with his staff to keep the conversation going not for headlines, but because he genuinely wanted input on how to help rural entrepreneurs grow.
That kind of follow-through matters. It’s what creates real momentum.
The Bigger Picture
When we invest in local businesses, we’re not just boosting the economy, we’re creating reasons for people to stay, work, and raise families in the same towns that raised them. That’s how you rebuild population, culture, and confidence all at once.
We’ve seen what happens when those small wins stack up. A town grows by a hundred people. Then two hundred. A new restaurant opens. Someone takes a risk on a hardware store or a small brewery. The energy feeds itself.
What We’re Learning
Formula 50 was built on the idea that growth and community go hand in hand. The more we work with founders and local leaders, the more convinced we are that success isn’t about where you go, it’s about what you build right where you are.
We’ve all seen what happens when leadership gets it right when people stop waiting for outside help and start creating inside opportunities.
Sometimes progress doesn’t look like a brand-new skyline. Sometimes it looks like a grocery store that stays open because a few people cared enough to make sure it did.