The entity known today as Raleigh Founded opened its doors as Hub Raleigh on Hillsborough Street a decade ago with an initial 29 members, 18 desks and six private suites.
Today? Its membership has swelled to 467 member companies.
But change – both in terms of the “new normal” of working and in leadership, including the departure of its longtime executive director — has hit the organization.
Cofounder and CEO Jason Widen said the Raleigh Founded leadership team “feels good” about where the organization is at, but he admits the “new normal” has brought in uncertainty.
“It’s been a boon, but I think we’re still figuring it out,” he said.
When Raleigh was founded, the focus was on supporting high-impact, high-growth companies. Today?
“It runs the full gambit,” he said, from tech companies to a Black-owned coffee shop to a 20-year-old company that recently vacated a 10,000-square-foot office that, in the age of remote working, “is just looking for a cool, dynamic place to be.”
The challenge? Figuring out what to do next.
Widen says it has never been about the office space. Raleigh Founded’s focus is on growing the entrepreneurship ecosystem, and that means providing programs. Widen said the team has held focus groups and is currently researching ways to fill in gaps that still exist “and not necessarily duplicate what others are doing.”
“We want to continue to support the community the way that we have, but we want to find new ways,” he said.
At its opening gala in 2012, cofounders said the space was part of a strategy to make Raleigh one of the top five centers for entrepreneurship and innovation.
“It starts with a cool physical space,” Widen said that November. “But you need to develop a community around that.”
Flash forward to 2022 and the cofounders say the entity, now headquartered at a large branded office in Raleigh’s Warehouse District, has delivered on those promises.
In Raleigh alone it has multiple locations, from its Harrington Street office to the Martin Street Capital Club to Crabtree Boulevard and Centennial Campus. It’s expanding into two more locations, in Cary and in downtown Raleigh. And it has what it calls “partner coworking spaces” in Wilmington, Yancyville, Durham, Greensboro and Charlotte – allowing its members desks when they travel.
Widen said it’s offering larger office suites at some of its new locations – and even allowing companies to rent an office for a day or two. That way remote companies can bring in their sales team for a meeting without having to sign a long-term lease.
It’s a good bet to make, as entrepreneurs have said that’s what they’re looking for as they sort out how to operate with virtual teams distributed around the globe.
But Raleigh Founded, still backed by founding entrepreneurs Brooks Bell, Jes Lipson, Christopher Gergen and Widen, is undoubtedly in a time of transition.
A leadership change
Not only has the “new normal” of remote work changed the way many firms are utilizing coworking spaces, but there’s been leadership change at the top.
First, Lauren Romer took off the “interim” moniker, becoming Raleigh Founded’s new director.
Now one of Raleigh Founded’s most consistent faces, Jess Porta, is leaving the organization. Porta, at Raleigh Founded for seven of its 10 years, was executive director from 2018 to June of 2022 when she transitioned into a chief strategist role.
Porta, who had replaced former executive director Liz Tracy, is moving up – literally. She’s taken a job with Green Places, upstairs from her current role. Green Places is a familiar landing spot, as the company, which recently raised $4 million, is in the portfolio of Lipson, one of Raleigh Founded’s cofounders.
“All of us at Raleigh Founded are very happy for Jess and supportive of her transition to the next phase of her career,” Lipson said. “[Green Places CEO] Alex Lassiter and I are thrilled to have her join the Green Places team and we think all the skills she built at Raleigh Founded will translate well to her new role.”
Porta, when asked about her proudest moments with Raleigh Founded, pointed to community partnerships, such as a collaboration with Campbell University’s law school to offer a free law clinic for entrepreneurs and free membership programs for members recovering from Covid.
“What I’ve loved about Raleigh Founded was our ability to use coworking space, and space in general, as a community building tool… but also to solve really complex problems, or at least contribute to them, in society,” she said.
Romer reports to Widen, who will remain CEO of Raleigh Founded.
Raleigh Founded held a celebration Wednesday to mark its 10-year anniversary.