Salesforce.com introduces a contest to attract new business ventures to its cloud infrastructure
Salesforce.com, the leading CRM company, has announced a competition aimed at European start-ups building enterprise applications. The competition, which offers a chance to win a share of €5 million in investment capital from a panel of venture capitalists, is designed to attract start-ups to Salesforce.com's cloud platform, which includes Force.com and Heroku.
The competition is open to enterprise app developers who have already developed a cloud-based enterprise application to 'beta' or a later stage. To participate, start-ups must demonstrate customer success and user adoption, as well as planned or existing adoption and innovative utilisation of the Salesforce Platform.
Start-ups would usually need to be based in Europe or have a significant market presence there. They are expected to present innovative solutions aligned with Salesforce's core areas such as digital transformation, sustainability, AI, or customer-centric technology. Participation might require alignment with sustainability or social impact goals, as Salesforce emphasizes sustainable innovation programs.
Submission of a detailed proposal or prototype demonstrating the innovation's viability and market potential is also required. Start-ups may need to comply with related European regulations such as the EU AI Act or CSRD reporting for ESG considerations, which impact many tech ventures in Europe.
If selected, winning start-ups will have the opportunity to negotiate with participating venture capital firms for seed funding or Series A investment. They will also be able to pitch to investors at events in Amsterdam, Berlin, London, Paris, and Tel Aviv.
In addition, winners will be able to build, package, and sell their apps on the Salesforce AppExchange, the world's leading business apps marketplace. They will also gain access to Salesforce's network, resources, and mentorship to scale their innovations globally. Partnership opportunities with Salesforce and its ecosystem, likely including co-development or pilot projects, are also on the table.
Salesforce.com's cloud platform includes Force.com, a PaaS offering that allows developers to build apps in Apex or Java, thanks to a partnership with VMware. Database.com allows developers to build on Salesforce.com's core database platform. The platform also includes Heroku, a PaaS for building apps using Ruby on Rails, Java, Python, and other development languages. Site.com helps companies build websites for marketing on Salesforce.com's platform.
The number of developers working on cloud-based enterprise apps is predicted to grow 159% over the next five years, according to CEBR. This competition is an opportunity for start-ups to be part of this growing trend and to leverage Salesforce.com's robust platform to scale their innovations.
For more details about the competition, interested start-ups are advised to check Salesforce's official innovation challenge page or contact Salesforce directly for the latest specific requirements, deadlines, and benefits.
- To capitalize on the growing trend of cloud-based enterprise applications and increase their business footprint, start-ups building innovative solutions in digital transformation, sustainability, AI, or customer-centric technology are encouraged to participate in Salesforce's competition, offering a chance to win funding and negotiate investments with venture capitalists, while gaining access to Salesforce's network, resources, and mentorship to scale globally.
- While presenting innovative enterprise applications, start-ups should demonstrate customer success and user adoption, as well as planned or existing adoption of Salesforce Platform, along with compliance with related European regulations such as the EU AI Act or CSRD reporting for ESG considerations, to potentially receive seed funding or Series A investment, and pitch to investors at events across Europe.
