In this episode, I’m joined by Zack Schuman, a public affairs scholar at Hamilton College, to explore what he learned after spending a full year living and researching in Sweden with his family. Zack’s research focuses on how communities actually work — especially in rural and peripheral regions — and how entrepreneurship, institutions, and culture shape economic life outside major metro areas.
While in Sweden, he studied how small regions support lifestyle businesses and social enterprises, how immigration reshapes local economies, and why quality of life often takes precedence over high-growth startup culture. This conversation dives into:
- Why Sweden isn’t built around “unicorn” startups — and why that matters
- How social safety nets change the way people think about risk and entrepreneurship
- The role of universities as anchor institutions in small and rural regions • Immigration, diversity, and the creativity required to deliver social services
- The difference between being welcomed and truly belonging
- What it means to leave community work — and return with new perspective
This isn’t a conversation about copying Sweden’s model wholesale. It’s about asking better questions: What makes a place work? Who gets to participate? And how do small businesses, institutions, and people quietly build culture over time? If you care about community development, entrepreneurship outside big cities, higher education, or the future of places like Upstate New York, this episode will give you a lot to think about.
