24
● BerlinstartupIdagioaimstodoforGluckandGrieg what Spotify
hasdoneforLadyGagaandArianaGrandeTheofficesofIdagioGmbHhavealltherequisite
tropesofa Berlinstartup:A dogfrolicsintheairy
industrialloft,tattooedemployeesparktheirbicy-
clesalongbrickwalls,andthekitchenispacked
withsnackssuchasrawfennelandginger.Butthe
Steinwaygrandpianonearthedoorbetraysthemis-
sionofa companythatmovestoa soundtrackthat’s
moreYo-YoMathanYoLaTengo:digitalaccesstoan
artformthat’slongremainedproudlyanalog.Stream Me,
Amadeus
THEBOTTOMLINE Salesforce’sannualrevenueis growing26%
a year,almostunheardofforitsclass,largelybecauseofBenioff’s
mercurialbuyingsprees.chargecustomersfora givenproduct,inthemid-
dleofa meetingaboutthetwocompanies’part-
nershipopportunities.Thenewscameasa shock
toexecutivesatSteelBrickandatApttusCorp.,a
companySalesforcehadalreadyteamedupwith
inthesamemarket.Apttusexpectedtobetheone
togetthebuyoutoffer,accordingtopeoplefamil-
iarwiththematter.“Ifyouwanttobeacquiredby
Salesforce,thenthebestthingis foryoutobemak-
ingourcustomerssuccessfulwithyourproduct,”
Benioffsays.
WithinSiliconValley,Benioff ’sreputationas
anemotionalbuyerhasledstartupstomakesome
dramaticmovesoftheirowntoattracthisatten-
tion,includinghiringawaySalesforceemployees
tomakeanintroductiontoBeniofformovinginto
SalesforceTower,SanFrancisco’stallestbuilding,
whichopenedlastyear.TheCEOsayssuchtricks
don’tworkonhim,thoughhedidagreeinAprilto
buypartnerMapAnythingInc.,whoseCEOusedto
half-jokinglyaskSalesforceexecutivesduringmeet-
ingswhentheyplannedtoacquirethecompany.
Theoffersaren’talwayssoeagerlyreceived.In
2016,Benioffgaveuponanattempttopurchase
TwitterafternewsofhisinteresttankedSalesforce’s
shareprice.Thesameyear,afterheconfidedhis
interestinLinkedIntohisbuddyJohnThompson,
thechairmanofMicrosoftanda neighborinHawaii,
Microsoft—longinterestedinthecompany—bought
it instead.LinkedIn’sfounderandCEOignored
anofferfromBenioffaboveMicrosoft’s$26billion
purchaseprice,accordingtoa filingwiththeU.S.
SecuritiesandExchangeCommission.Thatdealleft
Beniofffurious,accordingtooneofthepeople,but
Benioffsaysthat’sinthepast.“I’mquitespiritual
whenit comestothesethings,”hesays.“Ifit wasn’t
meanttobe,it mustnothavebeen.”
Microsoft,morethananyothercompany,may
havetestedBenioff ’sZen.Thetwosalesteamshave
competedforyearsinthedryfieldofcustomer-
relationshipmanagementsoftware,and while
BenioffgrewclosewithCEOSatyaNadellashortly
afterNadellawasappointedin2014,thatchanged
withtheLinkedIndeal,accordingtopeoplefamil-
iarwiththematter.
Benioff ’sfrustrationswerealreadybuildingby
then.WhenhewaslookingtosellSalesforcetothe
Windowsmakerin2015,hewanted$70billionfor
thecompany,whileMicrosoft’soffertoppedoutat
$55billion. Had the difference narrowed enough for
Microsoft’s leaders to take up the question, another
issue might have arisen: Benioff, who’d already cul-
tivated a reputation as a pugnacious director in two
tumultuous years at Cisco Systems Inc., wanted
to join Microsoft’s board. He would sometimesvideoconferenceintoCiscomeetingsfromHawaii
wearinga tanktopwhileexercisingonanelliptical
trainer, scandalizing the board’s corporate retirees,
someone familiar with the matter says.
Outwardly, Benioff is calmer about those set-
backs than that portrait suggests. “If there’s one
thing I don’t like, it’s when I don’t get my way,” he
says with a fair amount of cheer. As he searches
for the next hit business to bolt on to Salesforce,
he can’t afford to hold on to negative feelings, he
says. Some things are much bigger than him and
othersmuchtoosmall.Of course, some, like the
Kustatue,couldbeeither. �Nico Grant, with
DinaBass and Ian King“If there’s one
thing I don’t
like, it’s when
I don’t get
my way”◼ TECHNOLOGY Bloomberg Businessweek May 27, 2019