# Salesforce

Standing (still-up). Founded 1999-03-08.
Site: [salesforce.com](https://salesforce.com)

Marc Benioff, 8 Mar 1999. No software. Still a lot of software.

## Why it lasted
- CRM is where the money numbers live. Replacing it is a two-year program, not a weekend.
- The AppExchange and the admin class are a labor moat.
- They bought enough of the surrounding map (Slack, Tableau, MuleSoft) to stay the default enterprise gravity.

## Near deaths
- The 'software is dead' billboard was the origin story. On-prem vendors were the ones that had to explain themselves.
- HubSpot ate the mid-market. Salesforce kept the accounts where a VP of Sales already has a login.

## What would finish it
- A CRM that is actually nice to use and already sitting in the warehouse (Microsoft, a vertical SaaS) plus a CEO who stops buying the map.

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