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Micro-Investments

Zach Hawrot

Updated: Oct 6, 2024

Years ago, my hometown of Steubenville, OH, would have been an interesting case to put under a microscope: thriving when the mill was thriving and depressed after it (mostly) left. On the books, it looked like an investment that, after a major run, had finally peaked — time to sell off. But in a pick that most investors would have missed, it was still a long term hold. 

 

Someone (probably God) saw potential here for Franciscan University. Local family businesses saw the potential and need to help build this establishment. Others recognized the fertile grounds to raise a family here. Thanks to a relentless and hard-working valley, the University, and all of the people who stayed or moved here, I’ve never seen this area more alive. 

 

(Hats off to everyone who bought the dip.)

 

Steubenville didn’t make a V-shaped recovery because of a physical product; it bounced back because of millions of micro-investments in the community that, over time, much like a good company, compounded.

 

In Morgan Housel’s book More Than Ever, he talks about the phenomenon of compounding, 

 

“The age-adjusted death rate per capita from heart disease has declined more than 70 percent since the 1950s, according to the National Institutes of Health. Yet, as large of an improvement as this is, it’s still not a bigger headline. And why is that? Because of compounding — no one noticed it was happening because it was only improving by a small percentage point every year.”

 

That was Steubenville, invisibly improving year after year.

 

What is at the heart of compounding? Micro-investments. 

 

Where can we apply this? Absolutely anywhere. 

 

You can invest in anything: stocks, real estate, startups, God, a job, a spouse, friends, a book, whatever. Wiki describes an investment as the "commitment of resources to achieve later benefits.” Based on that definition, we make investments all day long, whether we realize it or not.

 

What return can I expect? 

 

Is it worth my time, effort, or resources? 

 

How much does this captivate me? 

 

Will it make my life or the lives of those around me better? 

 

What are the obvious and hidden risks? 

 

If you want to take the selfless, humble approach and invest in something you expect to get nothing out of, there is still a benefit. The main difference is you’re providing the return rather than receiving it. At its core, you’re investing in yourself on behalf of a cause. How nice of you!

 

Regardless of what we are investing in (God, companies, people, causes, communities), it’s important to audit each portfolio and analyze how we can restructure ourselves for better results. 

 

By being aware of our micro-investments, we can create stronger families, friend groups, and local communities. We can build stronger ideologies that, over time, become non-negotiable staples of our lives. And the results don’t need to be fast or explosive. Even if the only benefit you get is a stronger, more connected household, that’s enough to shift a generation.

 

At the center of who we are at 165 Ventures, these are the companies and people we focus on investing in, the ones that will incrementally shift the world in a better direction (to learn more about our mission, go here). 

 

How can we personally invest in ourselves and our community each day so that in one, five, or ten years, we can look back and see that old rusty town we once lived in is now miles ahead of where it was before? Just like reading this article was a micro-investment of your time (I’ll let you be the judge if this was a good investment or not), how worth it will your next micro-investment be?


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