Behind the founder: Marc Benioff

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

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Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/behind-the-founder-marc-benioff

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Where to find Marc Benioff:

• X: https://x.com/benioff

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcbenioff

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Where to find Lenny:

• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com

• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/

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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

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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