I live in a small town in Eastern Europe and I get contacted weekly by individual investors, firms and funds. In my turn, I mentor entrepreneurs and invest (angel, seed or later rounds) in ideas that could make a difference locally.

Throw away your scarcity mindset. It's outdated.

> the only shop in town

Feel free to open your own "shop in town" to offer employees another choice. Till then, 1 is much, much better than 0.