SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), the global leader in CRM, today announced that Salesforce Ventures, the company’s global corporate investment group, has launched a new $50 million Consultant Trailblazer Fund. The new fund will provide the next generation of cloud consulting companies and digital agencies with the capital required to build and scale their Salesforce services capabilities for the future, and empower more customers to transform their businesses with Salesforce.

Consultant Trailblazer Fund Supercharges Salesforce Ecosystem Growth
According to new research from IDC, Salesforce and its ecosystem of customers and partners will drive $1.2 trillion in new business revenues and 4.2 million new jobs worldwide between 2019 and 2024. The growing demand for Salesforce solutions presents a massive opportunity for Salesforce partners—in fact, many have reported that their Salesforce practices are growing by more than 50% annually. The Consultant Trailblazer Fund will support the thriving Salesforce ecosystem with an infusion of capital and resources, empowering more partners to deliver the trusted, personalized experiences customers expect and drive customer success with Salesforce Customer 360. This is a step forward as Salesforce works towards its goal of reaching 250,000 certified consultants by 2022.

Salesforce launched its first $50 million Consultant Trailblazer Fund in May 2017 and fully committed the investment dollars in just over two years. With that fund, Salesforce Ventures invested in leading consulting firms including Astound Commerce, ListEngage, Silverline, Simplus and Xertica to accelerate continued growth and arm teams with the resources needed to help companies successfully and quickly implement Salesforce technologies.

Comments on the News:

• “Salesforce Ventures is the only strategic fund focused 100% on creating the world’s largest ecosystem of enterprise cloud companies and extending that technology to Salesforce customers,” said John Somorjai, EVP of Corporate Development and Salesforce Ventures. “Consultancies and digital agencies play a vital role in our customers’ digital transformations. This follow-on fund dedicated to our consultant ecosystem will drive further customer success around the globe.”
• “Salesforce partners are a driving force behind the growth of the Salesforce ecosystem, which will create millions of jobs over the next few years as companies accelerate their digital transformations,” said Tyler Prince, EVP of Industries and Partners, Salesforce. “With the Consultant Trailblazer Fund, we’ll continue our focus on fueling the growth of so many incredible consulting and agency partners, enabling them to keep pace with customer demand.”
• “Since Salesforce Ventures first invested in Simplus in 2016, we have expanded globally and are now a Salesforce Platinum Partner,” said Ryan Westwood, CEO, Simplus.  “Salesforce Ventures has supported us throughout our expansion into APAC, Canada and EMEA. Salesforce Ventures’ presence in our board meetings, introductions and support of our ongoing strategy have been invaluable to the growth of Simplus.”
• “Silverline’s vision has always been to help our clients transform their businesses using the Salesforce Platform. Partnering with Salesforce Ventures has allowed us to execute that vision while expanding our incredible team, and deepening our focus on the financial services and healthcare industries,” said Gireesh Sonnad, CEO and Co-Founder, Silverline. “Salesforce Ventures continues to be a committed partner, helping Silverline to scale and further develop deep expertise in Salesforce technologies for our clients. Since the initial investment, Silverline has grown from a Silver to Platinum Salesforce Cloud Alliance partner, with hundreds of consultants and over 1,200 Salesforce implementations.” 

Connect with Salesforce Ventures and Partners:

• Learn more about Salesforce Ventures: http://www.salesforce.com/ventures
• Learn more about the Salesforce Partner Community: https://partners.salesforce.com
• Follow @SalesforceVC on Twitter
• Follow @partnerforce on Twitter
• Get the skills needed for the workforce of the future with Trailhead: https://trailhead.salesforce.com

About Salesforce Ventures
Salesforce is the global leader in Customer Relationship Management (CRM), bringing companies closer to their customers in the digital age. Salesforce Ventures, the global investment arm of Salesforce, invests in the next generation of enterprise technology that extends the power of the Salesforce Platform. Salesforce Ventures is building the world’s largest ecosystem of enterprise cloud companies and extending that technology to customers. Portfolio companies receive funding, strategic advisory and operating support, and can easily join Pledge 1% to make giving back part of their business model. Salesforce Ventures has invested in more than 375 companies, including DocuSign, GoCardless, Guild Education, nCino, Twilio, Zoom and others across 22 countries since 2009. For more information, please visit www.salesforce.com/ventures.

About Salesforce
Salesforce is the global leader in Customer Relationship Management (CRM), bringing companies closer to their customers in the digital age. Founded in 1999, Salesforce enables companies of every size and industry to take advantage of powerful technologies—cloud, mobile, social, internet of things, artificial intelligence, voice and blockchain—to create a 360° view of their customers. For more information about Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), visit: www.salesforce.com.

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SOURCE Salesforce