Name
Jason Wade
Websites
Project
Podcast
YouTube
Based in
Lake Wales, Florida
Jason Wade is the founder of BackTier, and the builder behind Lake Wales Startups — the founder's guide you're reading, the Lake Wales business directory, and Founder Lab, the three-day founder weekend at Downtown Pizza each February.
The idea behind all of it is the same: you don't need permission, a co-founder or a big city to build something real. You need the actual steps — the fees, the forms, the phone numbers — and a room of people doing it alongside you. Lake Wales already has both.
Through BackTier, Jason also works on how businesses are discovered and understood by AI systems like ChatGPT, Google and Gemini, and hosts the AI Visibility Podcast, recorded from downtown Lake Wales.
The Lake Wales Startups project
- The guide. Twenty-seven parts, from the first idea to your first hire — every fee, office and phone number in one place. Start reading →
- The directory. Three hundred–plus local businesses, with city contacts, zoning, licenses and fees. Open the directory →
- Founder Lab. Twenty founders, about twenty mentors, one weekend, four meals, zero cost. Applications are open. Apply →
Listen
The AI Visibility Podcast breaks down how businesses are discovered, interpreted and recommended across systems like ChatGPT, Google, Gemini and Perplexity — real execution, not trends.
Follow the show on Spotify →Watch on YouTube →
Watch
A few favorites from the BackTier YouTube channel — interviews and conversations recorded from Lake Wales.
Jason Wade — Full Official Biography
Startup Night: Startup Legal Strategy with Denise Tessier, Esq.
Build It Here: Why Lake Wales Already Has What It Takes
More videos on the BackTier YouTube channel →
How we verify
- Verified
- Confirmed through an official source or direct contact.
- Reported
- Documented editorially but not recently reconfirmed.
- Community submitted
- Sent in by a reader; awaiting full verification.
- Archived
- Preserved as a past record.
- Unconfirmed
- Details may have changed since we last looked.
Fees, schedules and contacts change. We recheck listings regularly, but confirm important details with the office or organizer before you file or travel.
Corrections
If something here is wrong, it is worth fixing on the record. Send the detail and, when you have one, the source. Corrections to factual errors are made promptly and noted on the page when the change is substantive.
Sponsorship
Sponsorship never affects factual descriptions, inclusion, or ordering in the directory. When BackTier supports an event, that relationship is labeled beside the event itself rather than repeated across unrelated pages.
Get in touch
Send a tip or a correction, add an event, or update a listing: email@jasonwade.com — or use the contact form.