Recorded live during IDEA Week, this episode of Rooted & Reaching brings host Marty Mechtenberg together with Logan Herzog, Executive Director of RISE, for a fast, candid conversation about what makes the South Bend Elkhart region one of the most welcoming entrepreneurship communities anywhere. Logan spent eight years running growth for early-stage startups around the world, working with startup communities in roughly 20 countries, and he does not hedge his conclusion: relative to those places, he has never been in a more open, accessible, and competent entrepreneurship community.
At RISE, Logan leads an organization built to empower emerging entrepreneurs. Its primary program, Startup Moxie, is a dual-credit high school program that builds real startups with 60 students across 23 startups this year. Logan explains what actually changes for those young builders over the course of the program: the growing confidence that they can build, and the assurance that the community will welcome them when they do. He argues that progress should be measured relative to each person, whether that means chasing serious revenue or, for a reserved student, launching Instagram Lives with local bands as a first step toward a podcast.
The conversation also digs into what genuinely moves the needle for early-stage founders. Logan's hot take: at the earliest stage, access to capital matters far less than access to the information needed to take action and generate revenue now. He makes the case for go-to-market education over grant chasing, celebrates the bootstrap DNA of the region, and reframes mentorship around finding the person just a few years ahead of you rather than waiting decades to give back.
Key Takeaways:
● Michiana punches above its weight. After working with startup communities in roughly 20 countries, Logan calls this the most open entrepreneurship community he has ever experienced, warm, accessible, and competent, with very little gatekeeping.
● Young people deserve a seat at the table. Startup Moxie proves high schoolers can build real startups, with 60 students across 23 startups this year.
● Confidence and welcome are the real outcomes. The biggest shifts Logan sees in students are the belief that they can build and the assurance that the community will receive them when they do.
● Measure relative progress, not one universal goal. Success looks different for every founder, from maximizing revenue to a reserved student launching Instagram Lives with local bands.
● Education beats capital at the earliest stage. Logan's view is that go-to-market knowledge and revenue generation matter more than chasing grants that can cost more time than they return.
● Bootstrapping is a transferable skill. Learning to generate your own capital in a region without abundant investment funding is a capability you carry anywhere.
● Find the mentor just ahead of you. Someone a few years down the road can answer granular, in-the-arena questions that a 20-year veteran may have forgotten.
● Give back along the way. You provide far more value than you realize by mentoring early rather than waiting for later years.
Resources Mentioned:
● RISE, an organization empowering emerging entrepreneurs: https://raisingtheregion.org/
● Startup Moxie, RISE's dual-credit high school startup program: https://raisingtheregion.org/startup-moxie/
● IDEA Week, the regional entrepreneurship event where this episode was recorded: https://IDEAweek.com/
● Proof of Concept Fund, a micro-grant fund from Startup South Bend Elkhart offering equity-free grants of up to $5,000: https://www.startupsouthbendelkhart.com
Connect:
● Rooted & Reaching Podcast: https://www.southbendelkhart.org
● Host: Marty Mechtenberg, https://www.linkedin.com/in/martin-mechtenberg-515a648/
● Guest: Logan Herzog, https://www.linkedin.com/in/logan-herzog-6526b09a/
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