Last year, Salesforce for Startups launched globally with the mission to empower startups to build, grow and give back. In that time, more than 3,500 members have joined the program from more than 85 countries. And we’re just getting started. To coincide with this milestone, the program has introduced a new offer related to Salesforce’s marketing automation tool, Pardot; a new partnership with enterprise technology venture fund Work-Bench; and new plans to grow and expand globally.

We’ve listened to the community.

The countless conversations we’ve had with entrepreneurs in our first year confirms there is no lack of passion, innovation and creativity across the global startup community. However, many entrepreneurs struggle with laying the right foundation for long-term success. As we’ve worked with startups over the last 12 months, it’s become clear that beyond choosing the right development environment or technology platform for their products, startups’ more pressing challenge is finding ways to better connect with their customers. We’ve listened to these concerns, and Salesforce for Startups is committed to helping these early-stage startups become customer-focused companies.

A vision to help startups become customer companies.

Startups that join Salesforce for Startups have access to the technology, tools and expertise needed to become thriving customer- and community-focused companies. We focus on helping startups build, grow and give back.

• Build – Through Salesforce for Startups, startups gain access to development platforms in the Salesforce App Cloud to quickly build any type of app at scale. We chose to build our Salesforce for Startup program on this very same technology, and we can help startups do the same so they can stay close to their customers’ needs.

• Grow – Once startups establish a product and market fit, they need to focus on growing efficiently at scale. Living in spreadsheets and multiple email inboxes is a recipe for failure. Salesforce for Startups’ goal is to provide startups with the tools they need to connect to customers across sales, service and marketing to support their growth. Today, we’re excited to announce we’re offering registered startups a 30% discount on Pardot to kickstart their B2B marketing automation efforts.

• Give Back – In partnership with Pledge 1% – an organization founded by Salesforce.org, Atlassian and the Entrepreneur’s Foundation of Colorado – Salesforce for Startups enables startups to easily adopt the 1-1-1 integrated philanthropy model that Salesforce itself pioneered at an early stage in its history. More than 25% of our members are currently working with Pledge 1%. Salesforce for Startups members who have recently taken the pledge include Auctio, LendUp and Yesware.

We’re just getting started.

By our second anniversary, our goal is to triple our membership and see our program reach all corners of the globe. Many thanks to our current network of accelerators and other startup organizations, including Communitech, StartupAUS, Startupbootcamp, Startup Grind and UPGlobal, who have introduced us to their innovative communities. We’ll continue to develop programming through partnerships like these.

And, speaking of partnerships, today we’re proud to announce our new relationship with Work-Bench, an enterprise technology venture fund and well-respected thought leader in the NYC enterprise startup ecosystem. Much of our growth can be attributed to support from organizations like Work-Bench, which helps startups accelerate product development and customer insights by connecting them with forward-thinking Fortune 500 companies. We look forward to working with Work-Bench and other partners to develop content and workshops in the coming year. Stay tuned for more news on that front.

Salesforce for Startups is the only global startup program guides startups through their build and grow phases, and is also focused on giving back. If you’re a startup that wants to become a customer company, join us!

Learn more about Salesforce for Startups at http://salesforce.com/startups.

Read great startup stories here: https://startups.salesforce.com/startup-customers.

Follow @Salesforcestart to keep up to date with our latest news and offers.