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HOT TOPICS
- The Accelerator Conundrum
- The Startup Velocity Question
- Platform as a Service
- Man and Superman
- Web 3.0 = (4C + P + VS)
- The Future: End of Capitalism
- Capitalism 2.0
Salesforce.com’s Incubator: René Bonvanie (Part 6)
Among the most significant challenges a company faces is obtaining its initial reference customers. Salesforce has a core competency revolving around telemarketing and sales, so I inquire about the type of support they provide to companies in the Incubator in order to address this challenge. SM: How do you handle the go-to-market phase with Incubator
Salesforce.com’s Incubator: René Bonvanie (Part 5)
Bootstrapping has emerged as a very popular trend recently in the Valley as more entrepreneurs are bypassing Venture Capital. Here I ask Rene about the roll of boostrapping within the Incubator, and also get introduced to SmartFunded. SM: Do you have examples of partners who have been able to bootstrap and avoid VC funding? RB:
Salesforce.com’s Incubator: René Bonvanie (Part 4)
Here we review the details of the terms. Companies pay $20,000 per cubicle per year for the Incubator, and in exchange they receive training, facilities and access to expertize. SM: Does that $20,000 also give them access to the SalesForce.com platform? RB: We do not charge for building upon the platform. When you start to
Salesforce.com’s Incubator: René Bonvanie (Part 3)
Here, René explains the benefits Salesforce.com receives from the Incubator initiative. The idea is very new to the marketplace, so the effectiveness of it remains to be seen, although common sense indicates this is a solid business plan which we are bound to see replicated in many industries from this point on. SM: What is
Salesforce.com’s Incubator: René Bonvanie (Part 2)
Salesforce.com has developed a truly intriguing concept with the Incubator. I wanted to get a bit of background on the history of the project before we delved into how its working. SM: I am going to focus our discussion primarily on the Incubator, however feel free to include experiences from the broader AppExchange. What was
Salesforce.com’s Incubator: René Bonvanie (Part 1)
René Bonvanie is Senior Vice President and General Manager, AppExchange and Developer Marketing at Salesforce.com. Rene has responsibility for the marketing and strategic direction of the AppExchange on-demand platform and developer marketing through the ApppExchange Developer Network. AppExchange is a novel new business strategy which allows SalesForce to develop symbiotic relationships with established and emerging
Retrevo’s Vertical Search: Before and After
According to Vipin Jain, CEO, Retrevo “is a web service that helps consumers with shopping and support of tech products. Retrevo is your trusted advisor throughout the lifecycle ownership of tech products, from education, research, deals, price comparison, getting the best out of the products you bought, accessorizing, using, fixing issues to servicing your products.
Retrevo’s Vipin Jain on Vertical Search (3)
SM: Who financed the company at the very beginning? VJ: Ammar Hanafi @ Alloy Ventures seed funded in Feb 2006. SM: Did you raise Angel money? How much? From whom? VJ: Three founders bootstrapped the company with $150K cash. SM: Did you raise Venture money? How much? From whom? VJ: Total $3.9M venture money raised