Jesse Lipson — 32

Professional Associations/Memberships: Entrepreneurs Organization (EO), Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED)

Civic Involvement: Impact Network, SHARE (charitable action group run by ShareFile employees)

Hobbies: Hunting, Piano

Cell phone: I carry an iPhone but am considering switching to Android.

Favorite app: I like TripIt. It makes it easy to keep confirmation numbers, etc. organized when I’m traveling. I would highly recommend it.

 

Are you using social networking (such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Plaxo, Facebook) as a marketing tool for your practice/business … or do you use such sites for personal use only? Have you gained any clients or seen other demonstrable benefits from the use of social networking? We use Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook in our business. We might have gained a few clients using social networking, but our main purpose for using social networking is to keep our existing clients informed about new developments in our business.

What pitfalls or what unwritten rules of social networking etiquette exist, which are frequently missed by others in the profession? One of my pet peeves is when companies spam via Twitter, responding to all related tweets with “Have you considered company X for this service?”

How many hours of the day are you plugged in and responsive to client needs? And what tools/products make it possible for you to have flexibility? Aside from the hours of midnight to 7:00 a.m. or 8:00 a.m. when I’m sleeping, I rarely go more than three hours without checking my email. Someone recently told me that he went on vacation for a week and didn’t bring his BlackBerry or his laptop. That sounded horrifying to me. It actually puts me at ease to know that everything is going well with our customers, so I find it more relaxing to stay connected.

What are some ways your firm/business has gone “paperless” and/or “green” in the last two years? For the first few years of our business, we didn’t even own a fax machine. We would receive faxes using an electronic fax service that sent faxes as PDF attachments to an email and would send them by scanning and emailing documents. I think our culture really started as being somewhat paperless in nature.

Do you embrace cloud computing? Our company has several full-time software developers, but we still outsource several IT functions like email hosting and PBX phone system to other providers. We want to spend our energy on our core business rather than managing services that other companies can handle more cost efficiently.

How is cloud computing changing the accounting profession, and how concerned are you with the security issues related to cloud computing? If you are a small business, it is highly likely that a cloud computing company can provide better uptime and security than your firm would be able to provide if you kept the function in-house. Much of the feeling of control and security you get by handling something yourself is an illusion. A great analogy is the fear of flying that some people have. Statistically, planes are far safer than cars, but many people feel safer when they are driving because they are in control.

Do you foresee the majority of firms still implementing servers for the majority of their computing in their offices five years from now or do you think they will be outsourcing this component to vendors who specialize in this area? I think there will be a mix. Some functions are better outsourced to other providers, and others are still more efficient to perform inside a corporate network. Ultimately, I think most firms will be pragmatic and will begin to outsource functions that make sense and will still keep some functions in-house.

What ONE piece of technology could you absolutely not live without? I think it would be tough to live without my smartphone. I use it primarily for email and web and rarely actually talk on the phone.

Do you subscribe to a magazine and/or local newspaper? We subscribe to several magazines, including Wired, Fast Company and The CPA Technology Advisor. Personally, I also read the weekend edition of The New York Times and have a subscription to The Economist and Harvard Business Review.

Do you use online resources like webcasts for CPE training? Since we are not an accounting firm, we do not need to do CPE training. We do occasionally attend webcasts, though, to stay up to date on issues affecting accounting firms.

Do you listen to podcasts? I do not listen to many podcasts. I generally prefer to either read text articles or watch videos.

What is an “old school” business practice or process you’d like to see changed in the next five years and why? I would love to see the elimination of fax machines.

What are some of your favorite books, movies, music, websites and TV shows? My favorite business book is “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion” by Robert Cialdini. My favorite movie is “The Big Lebowski,” and my favorite TV shows that are currently on the air are “Dexter”, “Mad Men” and “True Blood.”

How many monitors do you have on your desk? Normally I have two, but one is not currently working so I am down to one right now.

What operating system and version of Microsoft Office is installed on your work computer? I use Microsoft Vista Business and will upgrade to Windows 7 as soon as I have time.

What sports team/championship event do you absolutely refuse to miss? I am a Duke alumnus, so I love watching Duke basketball games. I was in Indianapolis this past spring to watch Duke win the national championship against Butler.