• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

MacKenzie Scott, Melinda French Gates, and Lauren Sánchez Bezos are rewriting the rules of billionaire giving—one quietly, one strategically, one very publicly

2

After donating $48 billion to the Gates Foundation, Warren Buffett is quietly ending one of the biggest philanthropic relationships in history

3

26 Meta employees accuse Mark Zuckerberg of using AI to target 8,000 layoffs against workers on medical, parental or family leave

1

MacKenzie Scott, Melinda French Gates, and Lauren Sánchez Bezos are rewriting the rules of billionaire giving—one quietly, one strategically, one very publicly

2

After donating $48 billion to the Gates Foundation, Warren Buffett is quietly ending one of the biggest philanthropic relationships in history

3

26 Meta employees accuse Mark Zuckerberg of using AI to target 8,000 layoffs against workers on medical, parental or family leave
TechPointCloud

Startups Face Tough Questions and Jokes at Salesforce’s Pitch Competition

By
Kia Kokalitcheva
Kia Kokalitcheva
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Kia Kokalitcheva
Kia Kokalitcheva
Down Arrow Button Icon
October 5, 2016, 2:58 PM ET
Key Speakers At 2016 The Dreamforce Conference
Will.I.Am, chief creative officer of 3d Systems Corp., from left, Shahrzad Rafati, founder and chief executive officer of BroadbandTV Corp., Chris Sacca, founder of Lowercase Capital LLC, and Mark Cuban, billionaire owner of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) Dallas Mavericks basketball team, listen to a presentation during the Dreampitch Competition at the DreamForce Conference in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2016. Salesforce.com Inc. isn't wasting any time putting its new acquisitions to use in a bid to strengthen its business software against larger rivals such as Microsoft Corp. New products unveiled Tuesday will blend the company's services with Quip, the document company Salesforce purchased in August for about $600 million. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesDavid Paul Morris — Bloomberg via Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

What do you get when you combine two sharks, one music star, the CEO of a digital media company, and a few startups? You get the first startup pitch competition at Dreamforce, the annual enterprise software conference hosted in San Francisco by Salesforce.

On Tuesday, three startups took the stage to present their nascent businesses in front of a crowd of enthusiastic cloud software customers—not to mention a star-studded panel of judges made up of investors Mark Cuban and Chris Sacca, BroadbandTV CEO Shahrzad Rafati, and music artist Will.i.am.

At stake was the chance to participate in Salesforce’s startup accelerator program and a thousands of dollars in free services, but the prize wasn’t easily won. If anything, the judges’ questioning of the startups and their sharp teasing of each other took center stage.

“You can’t say that your unfair advantage is that you’re breathing,” said Sacca, an early investor in Twitter (TWTR) and Uber, in reply to CRM Market CEO Tal Frankfurt’s unconvincing argument about his startup’s qualifications to succeed. When asked why his company is better than competitors, Frankfurt told the judges that he had been working with Salesforce’s software for years and has attended the company’s conference 11 times.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

Frankfurt’s startup is a marketplace connecting information technology consultants with expertise in Salesforce’s business software with businesses who need help. The entrepreneur compared his business to an “Angie’s List for the Salesforce ecosystem,” though the catchy riff on the well-known home services marketplace ultimately did little to shield him from the judges’ tough questions.

After a buzzer put an end to the assault, Frankfurt wiped off his forehead as he took a seat in the audience.

Another startup, Appinium, which lets companies that use Salesforce’s software host videos and collect data about them, tried to impress the judges by touting customers like American Express (AXP) and it’s plan for philanthropy modeled after Salesforce’s.

But it was the short clip from an episode of ABC’s Shark Tank television series, depicting Cuban and Sacca arguing about a startup’s business potential, that drew the biggest cheer from the audience during Appinium’s presentation.

Meanwhile, it was Claire, the only startup with a female co-founder to present, that seemed to impress the judges the most. The young company has built a chat bot—a automated software program that interacts with messaging app users—that lets companies gather feedback about a new or upcoming product from consumers via Facebook’s Messenger app. Over the past couple of years, Facebook (FB) has made its messaging app increasingly more available for businesses who want to interact with their customers there. Earlier this year, it opened up access to such chat bots from third-party developers.

“With the Claire folks, I think there was something actually innovative,” said Sacca, who was used as a model during the founders’ demo of their service using an hypothetical Western shirt company. (Sacca, for those not familiar with the investor’s signature wardrobe, is known for donning embroidered Western shirts in public appearances.)

Of course, Cuban couldn’t miss an opportunity to tease his fellow judge.

“Maybe someday you’ll reach a point in your life where you’re able to wear any clothing you want and not some silly shirt,” he told Sacca as they delivered their final thoughts before crowning the winning startup.

Although the judges doled out some of the prizes to all three companies, Claire ultimately won the top spot after impressing even judge Will.i.am with its strategy to weed out so-called “trolls” and “haters” from the users interacting with its software.

And while no one called attention to it on-stage, it was also a small victory women in the tech industry, a cause Salesforce (CRM) only recently made a priority. Just last month, the software giant appointed its first chief equality officer, Tony Prophet, to lead the company’s efforts in treating all employees fairly and equally.

About the Author
By Kia Kokalitcheva
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

Job interview in office
SuccessThe Interview Playbook
Bending Spoons only hired 0.04% from its 800,000 job applications last year—its CEO says its cutthroat hiring process is unlike ‘useless’ interviews
By Emma BurleighJuly 15, 2026
4 hours ago
FedEx CEO says we are in the middle of the biggest supply chain shift he’s seen in 35 years: ‘We are the referendum’
C-SuiteFortune 500: Titans and Disruptors of Industry
FedEx CEO says we are in the middle of the biggest supply chain shift he’s seen in 35 years: ‘We are the referendum’
By Fortune EditorsJuly 15, 2026
4 hours ago
19 of Cyclops' members stand smiling at the camera from their offices in Vienna, Austria.
CryptoVenture Capital
Exclusive: Cyclops raises $20 million to help payment companies settle faster with stablecoins
By Camila Grigera NaónJuly 15, 2026
6 hours ago
zuck
LawLayoffs
26 Meta employees accuse Mark Zuckerberg of using AI to target 8,000 layoffs against workers on medical, parental or family leave
By Barbara Ortutay, Alexandra Olson and The Associated PressJuly 15, 2026
6 hours ago
Bank of America CFO Alastair Borthwick
BankingCFO Daily
Bank of America’s AI bet is starting to pay off, its CFO says
By Sheryl EstradaJuly 15, 2026
6 hours ago
Is your AI really working? Why productivity isn’t the same as progress
Future of WorkBrainstorm Tech
Is your AI really working? Why productivity isn’t the same as progress
By Jamie GarverickJuly 15, 2026
6 hours ago

Most Popular

MacKenzie Scott, Melinda French Gates, and Lauren Sánchez Bezos are rewriting the rules of billionaire giving—one quietly, one strategically, one very publicly
Newsletters
MacKenzie Scott, Melinda French Gates, and Lauren Sánchez Bezos are rewriting the rules of billionaire giving—one quietly, one strategically, one very publicly
By Sydney LakeJuly 14, 2026
1 day ago
After donating $48 billion to the Gates Foundation, Warren Buffett is quietly ending one of the biggest philanthropic relationships in history
North America
After donating $48 billion to the Gates Foundation, Warren Buffett is quietly ending one of the biggest philanthropic relationships in history
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJuly 14, 2026
1 day ago
26 Meta employees accuse Mark Zuckerberg of using AI to target 8,000 layoffs against workers on medical, parental or family leave
Law
26 Meta employees accuse Mark Zuckerberg of using AI to target 8,000 layoffs against workers on medical, parental or family leave
By Barbara Ortutay, Alexandra Olson and The Associated PressJuly 15, 2026
6 hours ago
Jamie Dimon understands why people are anti-rich: 'We have, in fact, left the lower-income folks behind' and 'that's kind of annoying'
Economy
Jamie Dimon understands why people are anti-rich: 'We have, in fact, left the lower-income folks behind' and 'that's kind of annoying'
By Eleanor PringleJuly 15, 2026
8 hours ago
Current price of gold as of July 14, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of gold as of July 14, 2026
By Danny BakstJuly 14, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of silver as of Tuesday, July 14, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of silver as of Tuesday, July 14, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJuly 14, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.