From skiing to hotel management to owning a real estate investment company and wine bar; Jason Widen has always kept busy! Widen is a jack of many trades who has had his hand in the entrepreneurial and leadership ecosystems for a long time. After graduating from the University of Denver with a Bachelor of Science in Business Management, Widen launched into a lengthy and successful career in cultivating entrepreneurial spaces.

In 2012, Widen co-founded Forward Impact, whose mission is to unleash the impact of the next generation of entrepreneurs by supporting community-based strategies and programs. Widen’s work with Forward Impact led to several impressive initiatives across the Triangle, including Raleigh Founded and Cary Founded both part of Founded Communities.

In 2014, Widen launched the entrepreneurial living and learning community, ThinkHouse, an education-based residency accelerator for young entrepreneurs. Widen’s work encouraging the next generation of leaders doesn’t stop there. He co-founded Leadership Exchange, an educational study program dedicated to providing young people with the skills they need to be active citizens and entrepreneurs.

Beyond his work with the future leaders of entrepreneurial spaces, Widen Founded REVGEN and serves or has served on several notable boards including Innovate Raleigh, Downtown Raleigh Alliance, and Raleigh Chamber.

Widen co-founded Raleigh Founded alongside Jesse Lipson, Brooks Bell, and Christopher Gergen. He describes the origin of Raleigh Founded as wanting to find a way to give back to the entrepreneurial community, and we certainly believe he has succeeded. As Raleigh Founded’s CEO, Widen has seen Raleigh Founded through several seasons of growth and success and has been instrumental in cultivating the Raleigh entrepreneurial community.

We are so excited to watch Jason continue to impact the Triangle area as he launches Blue Co., a new Raleigh-based cowarehousing space.

Widen explains Blue Co. as the ideal shared space for service-based companies, tradespeople, makers, food & beverage entrepreneurs, and more.   Blue Co provides flexible and cost-effective warehousing solutions, complemented by shared workspaces, commercial vehicle parking, and tailored resources to meet their specific requirements. By removing barriers to growth, Widen aspires to empower service-based entrepreneurs in building wealth for their families and communities.

Widen and his team has big plans to expand Blue Co throughout North Carolina and the Southeastern United States.

Jason’s dedication to and impact on Raleigh Founded cannot be overstated, and we are so excited to see what the future holds for Jason and Blue Co.

Click here to visit Blue Co.’s website to learn more!