VCs wouldn't fund Salesforce ("that obviously won't work") when Marc Benioff began. With the cloud a growing part of practically every company, government, organization, and people's lives, a lot's changed since 1999. But what's next? Do enterprise CEOs get (mobile) religion? [Answer: not yet. Benioff thinks there's a ton of opportunity ahead there.] What's happening with international growth, when countries want their own clouds and 90% of enterprise software is bought in just 7 countries?
#startup #founder #entrepreneur #ceo #bookrecommendation storytelling advice, how to pitch as a founder, startup pitch advice
Marc Benioff is the co-founder and CEO of Salesforce, the second-largest software company in the world. He started programming at age 15, selling his first program for $75, and went on to build Salesforce into a company worth more than $300 billion that also owns Slack, Tableau, Quip, and MuleSoft. Marc is known as a marketing legend, and is now leading Salesforce into the era of AI agents. In our conversation, we discuss: • The importance of maintaining a beginner’s mind • His approach to product launches and marketing • Managing through tough times and layoffs • His relationship with Steve Jobs and lessons learned • Why Salesforce is betting big on AI agents • Many stories from his entrepreneurial roller coaster • Much more — Brought to you by: • Cloudinary—The foundational technology for all images and video on the internet: http://cloudinary.com/lenny • Enterpret—Transform customer feedback into product growth: https://enterpret.com/lenny • Coda—The all-in-one collaborative workspace: https://coda.io/lenny Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/behind-the-founder-marc-benioff Where to find Marc Benioff: • X: https://x.com/benioff • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcbenioff Where to find Lenny: • Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com • X: https://twitter.com/lennysan • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/ In this episode, we cover: (00:00) Introduction to Marc Benioff and Salesforce (03:54) Marc’s early career and domain names (05:59) The App Store story and lessons from Steve Jobs (15:18) Lessons from launching Salesforce (22:03) The importance of keeping a beginner’s mindset (29:53) Why Marc calls Salesforce the “25-year startup” (31:47) Agentforce (36:09) Why Marc says AI is the defining technology of our lifetime (40:12) AI’s impact on the workforce (42:31) Entrepreneurs need to be like conductors (46:02) Failure corner (50:32) The future of AI agents (56:34) Final thoughts and farewell Referenced: • Bill.com: https://www.bill.com • App Store: https://www.apple.com/app-store/ • Salesforce: https://www.salesforce.com • Oracle: https://www.oracle.com • Larry Ellison on X: https://x.com/larryellison • Siebel Systems: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siebel_Systems • Saba Software: https://talentedlearning.com/lms-vendor-directory/saba-software • Tom Siebel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomassiebel • Avon: https://www.avon.com • Salesforce Chief Has Pulled Some Crazy Stunts: https://www.businessinsider.com/marc-benioff-salesforcecom-chief-has-pulled-some-crazy-stunts-2012-3 • Matthew McConaughey on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/officiallymcconaughey • Woody Harrelson on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/woodyharrelson • “Ask More of AI” with Matthew McConaughey: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnobS_RgN7JaxOsLD8WH0I9E6osK3UrfI • Marc’s tweet about the ad with McConaughey and Harrelson: https://x.com/Benioff/status/1866175950062239784 • Chris Rock on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrisrock • Sushi Iwa: http://www.sushiiwa.jp/en/ • Ryoanji Temple Rock Garden: https://www.japan.travel/en/spot/1145/ • Neil Young Archives on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/neilyoungarchives • Mount Tam: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Tamalpais • Spirit Rock: https://www.spiritrock.org • Jack Kornfield: https://www.spiritrock.org/teachers/jack-kornfield • Agentforce: https://www.salesforce.com/form/agentforce/demo • Minority Report on Prime: https://www.amazon.com/Minority-Report-Tom-Cruise/dp/B00A2FSSHK • Peter Schwartz on X: https://x.com/peterschwartz2 • UCSF Health: https://www.ucsfhealth.org • A.I. Chatbots Defeated Doctors at Diagnosing Illness: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/17/health/chatgpt-ai-doctors-diagnosis.html • Does AI improve doctors’ diagnoses? Study puts it to the test: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/11/241113123419.htm • A.I. Will Transform the Global Economy—if Humans Let It: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/07/special-series/ai-transform-global-economy.html • Wargames on Prime: https://www.amazon.com/Wargames-Dabney-Coleman/dp/B0011EQBOS ...References continued at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/behind-the-founder-marc-benioff Recommended books: • Ghost Fleet: A Novel of the Next World War: https://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Fleet-Novel-Next-World/dp/054470505X • Behind the Cloud: The Untold Story of How Salesforce.com Went from Idea to Billion-Dollar Company—and Revolutionized an Industry: https://www.amazon.com/Behind-Cloud-Salesforce-com-Billion-Dollar-Company/dp/0470521163 • Trailblazer: The Power of Business as the Greatest Platform for Change: https://www.amazon.com/Trailblazer-Business-Greatest-Platform-Change/dp/1984825194 Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com. Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.
#sales #salesadvice #techsales #founder #salesforce
#sales #salesadvice #techsales #founder #salesforce
Andy Raskin helps CEOs align their leadership teams around a strategic narrative—a single story that powers success in sales, marketing, product, fundraising, and recruiting. His clients include Gong, Dropbox, Uber, Salesforce, Square, IBM, and many others. In today’s episode, we discuss: • What a strategic narrative is, and how to craft one • How having a strategic narrative can bring alignment to your entire company • Examples of strategic narratives in action • Who needs a strategic narrative and who doesn’t • Why Andy thinks about movements instead of categories — Brought to you by Coda—Meet the evolution of docs | Lenny’s Job Board—Hire the best product people. Find the best product gigs | Eco—Your most rewarding app Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-power-of-strategic-narrative Where to find Andy Raskin: • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andyraskin/ • Website: https://www.andyraskin.com/ • Podcast: https://andyraskin.com/podcast/ Where to find Lenny: • Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com • Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/ In this episode, we cover: (00:00) Andy’s background (08:03) What is a strategic narrative? (10:34) How Salesforce would have pitched the old way (12:02) Examples of a strategic narrative in action (15:23) How one piece of writing skyrocketed Andy’s career (16:40) The power of writing online (17:53) Two paths to writing online (19:27) Naming the old game (20:59) Naming the stakes (23:29) Naming the objective (25:17) Naming the obstacles (26:35) Overcoming the obstacles (26:57) How the strategic narrative parallels the hero’s journey (28:25) Telling one story well vs. being a good storyteller (29:18) The 5-step framework summarized (31:33) An example of the 5-step framework in action (36:12) The impact of shifting to the strategic narrative approach (39:08) Companies that are nailing their strategic narrative (40:36) Why Andy thinks about movements instead of categories (44:15) Should every company have a strategic narrative? (46:33) Signs that something is broken in your strategic narrative (48:53) Steps to get started on your own (51:36) How to reach Andy (51:53) Why the second session is the low point in the process (55:30) Why the CEO needs to be part of the process (57:40) Lightning round Referenced: • Salesforce: https://www.salesforce.com/ • Marc Benioff: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcbenioff/ • Zuora: https://www.zuora.com/ • The Greatest Sales Deck I’ve Ever Seen: https://medium.com/the-mission/the-greatest-sales-deck-ive-ever-seen-4f4ef3391ba0 • Gong: https://www.gong.io/ • Tien Tzuo: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tientzuo/ • Want a Better Pitch? Master the “Move”: https://medium.com/firm-narrative/want-a-better-pitch-master-the-move-5fbee071ca7f • Star Wars: https://www.starwars.com/ • The Hero with a Thousand Faces: https://www.amazon.com/Thousand-Faces-Collected-Joseph-Campbell/dp/1577315936 • 360Learning: https://360learning.com/ • Nick Hernandez: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicoconut/ • Amit Bendov: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amitbendov/ • Drift: https://www.drift.com/ • OneTrust: https://www.onetrust.com/ • “Shitty First Drafts” by Anne Lamott: https://learning.hccs.edu/faculty/pamela.golden/engl2327/shitty-first-drafts-by-anne-lamott/view • Story: https://www.amazon.com/Story-Substance-Structure-Principles-Screenwriting/dp/0060391685/ • Out of Sheer Rage: https://www.amazon.com/Out-Sheer-Rage-Wrestling-Lawrence/dp/0312429460 • Station Eleven: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10574236/ • Fitbit: https://www.fitbit.com/global/us/home • Apple Watch: https://www.apple.com/watch Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com. Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.