Salesforce.com is arguably one of the most influential enterprise tech companies in the world.
Founded in 1999 by Marc Benioff, Salesforce.com is best known for its customer relationship management (CRM) software.
It posted a little over $4 billion in revenue last year, and has a market cap of $34.6 billion. With roughly 10,000 employees, it’s the largest tech employer in San Francisco. Salesforce.com was also named #1 on Forbes’ “Most Innovative Companies” list for four consecutive years.
But for all of its success over the years, Salesforce.com employees have only founded a handful of startups. We're not sure why this is the case, but it might be because not many employees leave there, as it's repeatedly ranked one of the best companies to work for.
We’ve put together 8 of the more interesting startups launched by ex-Salesforce.com employees through the years.
Okta - Todd McKinnon
Company: Okta
Founded: 2008
What it does: Cloud/mobile identity management software
Funding so far:$155 million
Role at Salesforce.com: As senior VP of engineering, McKinnon grew his his team from 15 to 250 engineers. McKinnon said he loved his job at Salesforce, but saw a huge opportunity in cloud password management that he couldn't pass up. Benioff wasn't too happy and turned down an offer to invest early in Okta.
Zuora - Tien Tzou
Company: Zuora
Founded: 2007
What it does: Cloud billing and invoicing for recurring revenue businesses
Funding so far:$127.5 million
Role at Salesforce.com: Tzou was Salesforce.com’s employee #11 and its first Chief Marketing Officer. Benioff did invest in Zuora when Tzou left Salesforce.com in 2008.
Heresay Social - Clara Shih
Company: Heresay Social
Founded: 2009
What it does: Provides software for financial services teams to better-use social media to boost sales and productivity
Funding so far:$51 million
Role at Salesforce.com: Shih was the first product marketer of AppExchange, the business app store from salesforce.com. She was the product line manager overseeing product marketing and data analytics. She’s also the author of NY Times best seller, “The Facebook Era.”
See the rest of the story at Business Insider