It looks to me the idea may not be the best one and his success will not be easy to replicate (for those that are thinking to do the same in their cities), but the discussion the story generated is very interesting in two ways:

1)there are bits of localcasestudy's experience that can be used by other businesses irregardless of what sector they are

2)the moral of the story is that if you want to run your own business you can do it. And it doesn't necessarily have to be a tech startup looking to raise funds.