# Jesse Lipson

> Jesse Lipson is a Raleigh-based software entrepreneur and self-taught developer who founded ShareFile in 2005 and sold it to Citrix in 2011 for $93 million. After serving in Citrix cloud leadership, he founded Levitate in 2017 to help relationship-based businesses keep in touch with their networks. He also co-founded Raleigh Founded and served on Yext’s board from 2012 to 2026.

- **Role:** Founder and CEO at Levitate
- **Organizations:** Levitate, Real Magic, ShareFile (founder and former CEO; now part of Progress), Citrix (former executive), Raleigh Founded (co-founder), Yext (former director, 2012-2026), Green Places
- **From:** Iowa City, United States
- **Education:** B.A. in Philosophy; minor in Economics, Duke University
- **Known for:** Bootstrapped ShareFile before its $93 million acquisition by Citrix in 2011., Co-founded Raleigh Founded in 2012., Named 2023 Tech Executive of the Year by NC TECH.

## Career timeline

- **1999** — Earned a philosophy B.A., according to Duke’s alumni profile.
- **2005** — Founded ShareFile in Raleigh.
- **2011** — Sold ShareFile to Citrix for $93 million and joined Citrix.
- **2012** — Co-founded the coworking community now called Raleigh Founded; joined Yext’s board in August.
- **2016** — Became Corporate Vice President and General Manager of Cloud Services at Citrix in January.
- **2017** — Left Citrix in March; founded Real Magic in October, the company behind Levitate.
- **2018** — Levitate launched as a software product, according to the 2022 GrepBeat profile.
- **2023** — Won NC TECH’s Tech Executive of the Year award.
- **2026** — Levitate announced $16 million in funding in March; Lipson retired from Yext’s board after 14 years.

## Achievements

- Bootstrapped ShareFile before its $93 million acquisition by Citrix in 2011.
- Co-founded Raleigh Founded in 2012.
- Named 2023 Tech Executive of the Year by NC TECH.
- Led Levitate, which announced more than 8,000 business customers and $71 million in total capital raised in March 2026.

## Latest updates

- **2026-08** — Levitate appeared on the Inc. 5000 for a fourth consecutive year, ranked No. 1,498 with 234% three-year growth.
- **2026-06** — Discussed AI product strategy and two business tests with Scot Wingo on NC Tweener Talks; the episode described Levitate as serving nearly 9,000 small businesses.
- **2026-06** — Concluded Yext board service after joining in August 2012; the 2026 proxy announced he would not stand for re-election.
- **2026-03** — Levitate announced $16 million in new funding, bringing total capital raised to $71 million, and reported more than 8,000 business customers.

## Links

- Website: https://www.levitate.ai/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jesse-lipson-625195
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/jesselipson

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/jesse-lipson
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-24