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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 11)
To conclude the interview, I bring up the topic of branding. It seems obvious that Salesforce is moving beyond what it’s name suggests it offers clients. At this point, their brand is vastly less ambitious than the company. SM: My final question is regarding AppExchange. Salesforce seems to be moving beyond CRM. RB: We are
Salesforce.com’s Incubator: René Bonvanie (Part 10)
Here we continue to discuss potential locations for future Incubator sites. Salesforce is attempting to locate in areas which have high supply, meaning an abundance of talented software engineers with entrepreneurial spirit, along with areas with high demand for on-demand software. India would have to be considered one of the highest supply markets. Israel could
Salesforce.com’s Incubator: René Bonvanie (Part 9)
René shares some recent Incubator success stories. As the Incubator matures, the number of these stories is undoubtedly going to increase. SM: I know you have only been going for five months so far, but do you have any success stories you can share with us? RB: In the past few months a number of
Salesforce.com’s Incubator: René Bonvanie (Part 8)
Here we finally see how the Incubator does indeed assist companies with obtaining their original customer base, and they do so in a very effective manner. SM: There is nothing wrong in that motivation to try to expand the pie. It is absolutely the right motivation to have. RB: I think the most difficult skill
Salesforce.com’s Incubator: René Bonvanie (Part 7)
I continue my discussion regarding the need for Incubator companies to receive assistance in their initial customer acquisition phase. I push Rene a fair bit. I think he is getting slightly annoyed and defensive 🙂 SM: If you go back to the beginnings of Salesforce.com, and you ask Mark Benioff, I am sure he will
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
Om Malik: Pioneering Blogs (Part 11)
Here Om and I discuss some the challenges of operating a blog. The industry is in its infancy. In particular, there are difficulties with advertising networks and lack of analytics. SM: Are you following what Time Warner is doing with companies like Adify? OM: I have not. There are several reasons for that, mainly I
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: