How Steve Jobs’ advice fuelled the creation of Salesforce’s AppExchange

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff recently recounted a life-altering encounter with the legendary Steve Jobs that reshaped his career and Salesforce’s future.

Speaking on Lenny’s Podcast, Benioff revealed how Jobs’ enigmatic guidance during a creative slump in his entrepreneurial journey led to the creation of Salesforce’s groundbreaking AppExchange.

JOBS’ TRANSFORMATIVE CHALLENGE

During their conversation, Jobs gave Benioff three directives that were as ambitious as they were cryptic. The first was a bold challenge: “Your company, it better get 10 times larger in 24 months, or it’s over.” He also advised securing a key client, like Avon, and concluded with a cryptic suggestion: “You better go build an application economy.”

Perplexed by the last directive, Benioff sought clarification, but Jobs replied with characteristic mystique, “I don’t know, but you’re going to go figure it out.” For Benioff, the exchange felt like a Zen koan—a riddle meant to inspire deeper insight.

Determined to unravel the puzzle, Benioff revisited his notes repeatedly until he identified the solution: creating an app store for business applications. This vision materialised in 2006 with the launch of Salesforce’s AppExchange, a platform that transformed the company’s ecosystem and enabled third-party developers to offer apps and services to Salesforce customers.

Two years later, in 2008, Apple debuted its App Store, forever changing the mobile technology landscape and validating Jobs’ prescience. As a gesture of gratitude, Benioff gifted Apple the App Store trademark and the appstore.com domain, acknowledging Jobs’ role in sparking his breakthrough.

A LEGACY OF VISION AND MENTORSHIP

Reflecting on his relationship with Jobs, Benioff expressed deep appreciation, stating, “I’m very grateful to have had that relationship. It dramatically influenced me in my career and my whole life.”

This remarkable mentorship moment highlights the profound impact of visionary advice and reinforces the value of bold thinking in shaping the future of technology and innovation.