Why Startups Must Have a Meaningful Purpose to Succeed

Image: Salesforce

Corporate Challenge:  New startup seeks to standout in crowded market. 
 
Ironbound Strategy:  Powerful brands get noticed because they operate with meaningful purpose.  The surefire way to attract attention and resonate world changing ideas is to permeate meaningful core values across all stakeholders.

​Ironbound Action:  San Francisco based Salesforce.com, founded in 1999, was the first to introduce a new 1-1-1 philanthropic extension to the business model.  The Salesforce Foundation is comprised of 1% equity, 1% employee time, and 1% of their product.  Since their Initial Public Offering in 2004, Salesforce stock (CRM) has soared (adjusted for splits) from $4 to $160 today.  The strong stock price performance reflects phenomenal revenue growth from approximately $100 million in 2004 to nearly $14 Billion in 2019.  By being in business for more than just profits, holistic value creation continues to propel Salesforce as the world’s leading enterprise cloud ecosystem.