Lisa Laporte is an established entrepreneur in the San Francisco Bay Area, an area she loves living in and finds new aspects to enjoy every day.

Lisa Laporte has an extensive, and equally impressive, professional background. Spanning over thirty years, Lisa has worked in numerous capacities as a Corporate Controller, CFO, Consultant, CEO and Founder in a wide variety of businesses. Her passions in business have shaped her expertise in growing startups, building successful and diverse teams, establishing robust partnerships through business development, and in generating income. No matter what role she’s worked in, Lisa has approached the position with a passion for learning and enhancing her professional knowledge. Regardless of the industry she was working in, Lisa Laporte knew that the experience she gained was valuable and could be applied to future endeavours. This drive for learning and success is what allowed Lisa to switch roles and industries with such ease, always looking out for the next opportunity to further her career.

Lisa Laporte’s first taste of being an entrepreneur came at the age 33, when she opted to shift her focus and establish her own consulting business. Lisa knew that taking this plunge was risky, realizing that many new entrepreneurs do not see significant success, no matter how much work they put into their business. By this point in her life, she was experienced enough in business to understand the realities of entrepreneurship, but because of her work ethic and drive for success, Lisa felt it was a challenge she was completely up to. Even when faced with difficult situations, Lisa has shown that she’s able to push forward and achieve her goals. She knew that starting her own consulting company would be no different. Lisa was not afraid of taking the risk of starting her own business and knew it was an exciting new chapter in her life.

Having been an established professional for some time, Lisa Laporte had readily secured quite the influential network. Through these connections, and her unwavering rapport, Lisa was presented with countless consulting opportunities, which led to the overwhelming success of her consulting business. Looking back, Lisa recognizes now more than ever the importance to professionals of developing a solid, far-reaching network. As you begin your career, it’s important to work on creating lasting connections with others in a sincere way. Lisa understands the total importance of working well with your network and team and also genuinely listening to what they have to say. It’s important to listen to other people’s insight and advice, especially if they’re someone you trust. In order to truly create a great network, professionals need to be sincere in their interactions and embody integrity so they can build trust with other professionals.

During the time she was running her consulting company, Lisa took on an array of multifaceted jobs. She worked with companies on bookkeeping clean ups, accounting processes, and operating costs. In partnership with business owners, Lisa Laporte was able to help establish goals for growing small companies and then create a plan on how those companies could achieve their goals.  Due to the rapid growth that Lisa experienced almost immediately, she was able to hire employees within her first year. At the peak of her consulting career, Lisa Laporte successfully maintained the CFO title at three companies, oversaw twenty different entities in all different industries, and had three bookkeepers working for her. While this time in her career as an entrepreneur was hectic, the energy was something Lisa thrived on and continues to benefit from today, especially as she holds the role of CEO for two companies.

Today, Lisa Laporte’s most recent ventures are being the CEO of  TWiT.tv and Artisanal Agency, both of which are focused on new media. After six successful years in consulting, Lisa found her new business endeavor at TWiT.  Perplexed by the industry, and what TWiT had to offer, Lisa eagerly accepted the opportunity to join the technology online broadcasting company. Quickly working her way up through the company, Lisa learned much about the tech industry and was able to apply many of her skills from other jobs to her various roles at TWiT. Lisa has thrived at TWiT, which features top-ranking technology podcasts. The shows on TWiT provide listeners with news, commentary, help, how-to, and perspective on the latest digital and tech trends. The company has seasoned experts weigh-in on these topics and provides listeners with quality information to help them better understand the digital and tech worlds.

More recently, Lisa launched Artisanal Agency, an internet ad sales company. While working for TWiT, negotiating and executing the advertising contracts, Lisa Laporte recognized a greater will to help other podcast networks succeed in becoming an ad-supported network. Two years later, Artisanal Agency continues to build successful relationships between podcasters and their advertisers. TWiT provides their media for free, being completed supported by advertisers. Lisa realized the extreme importance advertisers have when it comes to helping podcasters create and distribute their content, so she made it a goal to help those podcasters find reliable advertisers who they can develop meaningful relationships with. Lisa ultimately founded Artisanal Agency in order to complement TWiT and super-serve the TWiT audience by connecting and partnering with high-integrity advertisers that offer products and services that genuinely benefit listeners.

When it comes to overcoming challenges in business, Lisa Laporte recognizes that no matter how successful you are at what you do, there will be obstacles that you must step back and learn from. Whether that means starting over from scratch or simply dealing with a bump in the road, Lisa believes it’s important to approach these issues with integrity and resilience. In order to make it in the business world, you need to be willing to push back against opposition and stand up for your ideas and beliefs. It can be challenging to achieve success in many established industries, particularly if you’re an entrepreneur looking to break into the scene, but that does not mean it’s impossible. With hardwork and perseverance, you can achieve the success you want. When Lisa Laporte moved between industries, she knew she was tackling something she hadn’t much experience with, but with determination, she could master the subject. This same determination has led to the great success Lisa has experienced throughout her career.

Another aspect of business that Lisa Laporte believes is integral to success is simply staying on top of news and developments in your industry. While there is a never-ending supply of new inventions and systems in the tech industry, it is possible to stay highly informed on what’s happening. Simply attending conferences and talking to other thought leaders can go a long way in enhancing your own knowledge about your industry. Staying up-to-date in your industry provides valuable insight and establishes you as an expert in what you do. Take time to continuously learn, no matter what the topic. You’ll see endless ways this knowledge benefits you, in your professional and personal lives. Continuously learning something new is one of the best ways to enhance your knowledge and experience. You might discover a new passion you didn’t realize you had and then apply it to your professional life. If there’s something you’ve been even mildly interested in learning about, take an online class, attend a lecture, or just do something to start your journey of lifelong learning.

As an established business owner, Lisa Laporte understands the value in taking risks, practicing discipline, and being passionate about your career and applies these ideals to all areas of her career. With over 25 years of experience helping businesses take the next step, Lisa is excited to share her journey in entrepreneurship. Lisa believes it’s important for experience business professionals to take time to share what they’ve learned and their journeys in order to inspire and mentor others. Outside of working on making her two businesses the absolute best they can be, Lisa Laporte also enjoys improving her photography skills, cooking, traveling, and spending time with her family.