If It Doesn’t Scale, It Still Might Matter

Redefining Success in Rural Innovation

A few years ago, we were involved in finding new innovative lobster bait solutions to help support and improve the efficiency and sustainability of the lobster fishery. This included price stability and diversifying species used or using non-fish bait products to catch lobster. We uncovered a number of companies developing solutions in rural communities. Nothing fancy—just new solutions to help fishers be more profitable and sustainable.

We were looking at solutions and opportunities. Not Scaling Companies or VC funding.

But guess what? Some of these innovations caught on. Within a few months, these bait products were in market and being used by a number of fishers. Since then, there have been more companies entering this market and we continue to see innovative solutions and ideas for this.

Now, to a venture capitalist, that might not even register. To the community? That’s a game-changer.

Why We Need a Different Scorecard

We’ve been sold the idea that success equals speed, scale, and sizzle.

But in rural places, success often looks more like:

• Solving a real problem no one else saw

• Keeping people working where they live

• Starting small but finishing strong

If we keep holding rural innovators to the metrics built for Silicon Valley, we’ll keep missing the magic that’s happening just down the gravel road.

So What Should We Actually Measure?

Let’s start measuring what matters, not what looks good on a pitch deck. Here’s what I look for when I want to know if rural innovation is working:

1. Problem Solving at the Ground Level

Did it fix something real? Innovation isn’t always about tech—it’s about impact. Those bait solutions? It’s not an app, but it can possibly change the industry.

2. Revenue That Stays Local

Are local dollars staying in local hands? In small towns, it’s not about growing fast—it’s about circulating value so that families can stay afloat and communities can build wealth.

3. Lifestyle Integration

Does the business support a better way of living? These entrepreneurs get to stay close to their families, work a schedule that fits their lives, and give others better tools and solutions to do their jobs. That’s real success—not just freedom, but fulfillment.

4. Knowledge Transfer

Is it teachable? If someone down the road can replicate it or adapt the model, that’s a win. Rural innovation succeeds when one person’s progress becomes a platform for others.

5. Community Resilience

Does it make the town and industry stronger, not just richer? Real innovation builds resilience. When one person solves a local problem, it sends a message: “We don’t have to wait on someone else.”

Final Thought

Not everything has to scale. Some things just have to stick.

Stick in the community. Stick in the family. Stick in the rhythm of someone’s daily life.

So let’s stop chasing vanity metrics and start celebrating rural entrepreneurs who are fixing things, building things, lifting others, and making life a little better where they are.

Because if it works here, it doesn’t matter if it scales. It matters that it lasts.

#RuralEntrepreneurship #InnovationInPlace #ImpactOverHype #CommunitySuccess #MicroMomentsMatter