RALEIGH — HQ Raleigh is now Raleigh Founded.
The name change may have been triggered by a trademark lawsuit filed by a subsidiary of the office space provider Regus earlier this year, said co-founder Jason Widen. But as he sees it, a rebrand was long overdue for this “co-working community.”
“We’d been contemplating a name change for some time,” he told WRAL TechWire. “No, we did not want to do a name change during a pandemic. But when when you’ve got a bigger, more powerful company that can outspend you, it doesn’t leave you much choice. Anyways, we’re really proud of the name. It’s worked out just fine.”
The company has come a long way since it first opens its door in 2011, the brainchild of Widen and co-founders Jesse Lipson, Brooks Bell and Christopher Gergen.
Back then, it started out as a space to attract companies to incubate and grow. As Widen recalled, “we were a group of serial entrepreneurs that wanted to give back.” It quickly served as a landing spot for high-impact, high-growth tech companies, most notably Pendo.
But its work has evolved over time. These days, the company provides space and community support for other types of small businesses and economic development initiatives. The new name reflects that, Widen said.
“[It] was actually one of the names that floated to the top, back in the early days,” he explained. “It’s this idea of founding something in your community. As we revisited the name, [that’s] thing that we really liked about it. We’ve been a fixture, and community builder for some time now in Raleigh; and it’s something that we’re proud of. We wanted to create a seal or a badge of honor for them.”
New name, new offerings
These days, Raleigh Founded is home to some 1,000 members from over 400 companies spread across four different locations.
They include its main headquarters on South Harrington Street in the Warehouse District; another on West Martin Street; a co-working, classroom and office space in the heart of NC State’s Centennial Campus; and an office space in the newly renovated Gateway Plaza, located just north of downtown Raleigh.
That brings its total space to around 103,000 square feet.
Widen said Raleigh Founded will continue to provide a landing to early-stage startup companies. It is already the home to programs such as the Business Law Clinic, which provides free legal services to companies in need and the RIOT Accelerator Program (RAP), which helps companies explore their market and refine their business model. NC State’s Entrepreneurship Clinic, which pairs students with companies to assist on projects, is also based there.
But it’s now working to beef up its virtual offerings given the coronavirus outbreak.
“We’ve always had a virtual presence, but the physical presence usually took precedence. With the pandemic, it’s given us time to really work through our offerings, and to connect with our community in ways that we haven’t done so before,” Widen said.
Starting in September, members will be able to access office-hour style Q&As with business professionals such as accountants, attorneys, investors, mentors, and marketing professionals. They will also be able to ask real time questions to the same professionals.
It will also be rolling out new programming to support those in under-connected communities. That includes opening an affiliate space in rural NC; launching the Main Street program, a free membership campaign for those in need; and creating more accessible content through virtual programming.
“We felt like this year was more important than ever to turn our intentions into action,” said Jessica Porta, director of Raleigh Founded. “So if you are an organization working on racial equity work in the area, a business owner struggling from the impact of COVID-19, or a small business in the community looking to test your idea, we may have resources that can help you.”
