§ Lake Wales founders
Startup Night.
A free, recurring meetup for founders and neighbors at The Thirsty Dragon in downtown Lake Wales. Food, drinks, and good conversation.
Next Startup Night
Startup Legal Strategy
With attorney Denise Tessier, Esq. (TessierLawFirm.com). Wednesday, October 21, 2026, 6 PM at The Thirsty Dragon, 126 N 1st St, Lake Wales. Free to attend.
Watch
Startup Legal Strategy with Denise Tessier, Esq.
A full talk from Startup Night — what every founder should know before signing anything.
Build It Here: Why Lake Wales Already Has What It Takes
The AI Visibility Podcast, recorded in town.
Jason T Wade — Full Official Biography
From Gainesville, 1974, to BackTier and Startup Night.
Founder's handbook · October 2026
Start a business in Lake Wales
By Jason T Wade
Most "how to start a business" guides begin with forming an LLC. That is backwards. A business begins when somebody has a problem, you can solve it in a way they value, and they will pay enough to make the operation viable. The LLC, taxes, zoning, and insurance are infrastructure around the business — not the business.
Lake Wales does not need to become Tampa, Orlando, or Miami. A better model is Gainesville or early Austin: smaller, accessible, slightly weird, founder-led, and connected to larger ecosystems when needed. Build here. Use the internet. Use AI. Meet people. Sell something.
- 01The Short Version
- 02Start With the Problem, Not the LLC
- 03Talk to Humans Before Building Too Much
- 04Decide What Kind of Company You Are Building
- 05Money Reality: Know Your Runway
- 06Check the Location Before Signing the Lease
- 07Choose the Legal Structure
- 08Choose a Name Humans and Machines Can Distinguish
- 09Get an EIN Directly From the IRS
- 10Determine Your Florida Tax Responsibilities
- 11Check Whether Florida Regulates Your Activity
- 12Get the Polk County Local Business Tax Receipt
- 13Complete the Lake Wales Business Tax Process
- 14Starting From Home Is Often Smart
- 15Build an AI-Native Company
- 16Make the Business Easy for AI to Understand
- 17Get the First Ten Customers Manually
- 18Launch Before It Feels Finished
- 19Lake Wales Startups
- 20Lake Wales Is a Node, Not an Island
- 21Learn From Builders, but Filter Hard
- 22Know When to Hire Help
- 23Do Not Spend Money to Feel Like a Founder
- 24Your Minimum Operating Stack
- 25Your First 30 Days
- 26Printable Lake Wales Business Startup Checklist
- 27Build Here. Connect Everywhere.
Includes the Polk County and Lake Wales business tax steps, a 30-day plan, and a printable checklist. A small weekend Founder Lab cohort is coming — sign up to hear when applications open.
Read the full founder's handbookFrom the notebook
Seventeen People in a Room
The Lake Wales Startup Night episode of the AI Visibility Podcast.
Entrepreneurshit
What nobody puts on the poster.
Startup Basics, for All Ages
The fundamentals that work at 16 or at 66.
Your First Legal Questions, Answered Simply
What to sort out before (and right after) you launch.
Contact the organizers