Whether you are new to Dreamforce, or a 10-year veteran, one thing is clear — this is the entrepreneurial event for innovative business leaders and cloud computing entrepreneurs alike.
Salesforce is always focused on innovation, but Dreamforce allows us the opportunity to inspire you with the best in thought leadership and critical advice to accelerate your success. Join us to hear luminaries like Marc Andreessen, Max Levchin, Reid Hoffman, Steve Jurvetson, Jeremy Stoppelman, our own Marc Benioff amongst others who will be featured in our keynotes this year. But there’s more… We have a collection of sessions that talk specifically to you — the tech entrepreneur, on topics from funding to finding your MVP, sales acceleration to scaling your business to $100M.
Funding and Growth Sessions: Highlights for Startups
Do you have a new business idea or are you a leader at a growth company? Are you confused about how to take that first step or how to get the funding you need to accelerate growth? Should you even seek outside funding? James Cham, Partner at Bloomberg Beta (and featured speaker at our “Grow or Die!” session) says “some people used to think of Silicon Valley as a big conspiracy…one where you work hard to get venture funded…eventually just to ‘give away the company’ in the end. Those days are gone. Most companies don’t need to seek venture funding. The barriers to launching a new company are now lower than ever and the pathways to growth wider.” From bootstrapping to angel/seed investment, from venture capital to revenue-based financing, there are endless choices available to startups today. We have assembled a complete roster of world-class CEOs and renowned investors to address some of these options and help you get the answers to your funding questions.
Join us on Monday, October 13th, from 12pm – 2pm and Wednesday, October 15th, from 2pm – 6pm where we will have sessions and panels guiding you all the way from launching a new company to successful exit, whether by acquisition or IPO.
The Journey: From Startup to Post-IPO:
GROW OR DIE! From Idea to IPO: Fund and Grow your Startup
Monday, October 13th @ 12pm
Westin St. Francis, Tower Salon A
Featuring James Cham, Partner, Bloomberg Beta; Mike Jensen, CEO, Free & Clear.com; Jason Jue, CMO, Triblio; Robi Ganguly, CEO, Apptentive; Vincent Yang, CEO, EverString; Fred Tsai, Sr. Director, Salesforce.com
After the IPO: Lessons from Successful Executives
Monday, October 13th @ 1pm
Westin St. Francis, Tower Salon A
Featuring Vinay Bhagat, CEO, TrustRadius; Peter Wooster, former CRO, Marin Software; Andre Yee, CEO, Trlbio; Michael Weening, SVP, Salesforce.com
Investing in Enterprise Startups – A Seed Investor’s Perspective
Monday, October 13th @ 1pm
Westin Hotel @ 3rd & Mission, City View Room
Featuring Jeff Clavier, Founder, SoftTec VC; Laura Behrens Wu, Founder, Shippo; Adam Marchick, Founder, Kahuna
Beyond Friends and Family – Funding Your Enterprise Startup
Wednesday, October 15th @ 2pm
Westin St. Francis, Elizabethan A, B
Featuring BJ Lackland, Founder, Lighter Capital; Claire Lee, Managing Director, Silicon Valley Bank; Kristina Shen, Sr. Associate, Bessemer Venture Partners; Matt Garratt, Corporate Development, salesforce.com, Mike Kreaden, Sr. Director, Startup Relations, salesforce.com
The New Cloud Funding Model for Enterprise Apps
Wednesday, October 15th @ 3pm
Westin St. Francis, Elizabethan A, B
Featuring Matt Holleran, Founder, Cloud Apps Capital Partners; Judy Loehr, Venture Partner, Cloud Apps Capital Partners; Dave Yarnold, CEO, ServiceMax
How to Benchmark Your Enterprise Startup
Wednesday, October 15th @ 4:30pm
Westin St. Francis, Elizabethan C, D
Featuring Jason Lemkin, Managing Director, Storm Ventures; Brian Jacobs, General Partner, Emergence Capital Partners; Tiago Paiva, Founder, Talkdesk
Meet the Catalysts – Advice from the Hottest Enterprise Accelerators
Wednesday, October 15th @ 5:30pm
Westin St. Francis, Elizabethan C, D
Featuring Ravi Belani, Managing Director, Alchemist Accelerator; Michael Cardamone, Managing Director, Acceleprise SF; Gabriella Draney, Founder, Tech Wildcatters; Sanjay Puri, Founder, 9Mile Labs; Ludovic Ulrich, Director, Startup Relations, salesforce.com
Still hungry for more? Check out our Founders Forum sessions and panels for insight and inspiration from some of the most successful tech and business leaders in our industry. Be sure to drop by the Startup Zone (in the Dev Zone) at Moscone West to meet other startups and learn about the programs and events our Startup Relations team has in store for you.
See you at Dreamforce!