Dreamforce was an exciting time for customer trailblazers to come together, and the inspiration continues. 2016 was the first Dreamforce for Frank S., Founder of CRM Command. “2016 was my first Dreamforce and it was a great experience...loved it! I have decided to jump into the Salesforce ecosystem headfirst and can't wait for Dreamforce ‘17.” For Kevin B., Sr. Software Developer and Integrator of USAA, Dreamforce is an annual event. “Dreamforce always leaves me with great ideas to come back and apply. Those ideas often have nothing to do with what I set out to learn when I arrived in San Francisco, but the energy and excitement of the conference leads to innovation.”

What brings these two customers together is the excitement of Dreamforce...and winning big prizes. These two customers, as well as 21 more, showed their Camp AppExchange pride by collecting and wearing pins, t-shirts and hats from over 70 partners (many of whom showed off their apps in Lightning) and won a total of nearly $20,000 in prizes, including Dreamforce ‘17 tickets.

In all of this excitement, we asked these customer trailblazers (and 10 more) about their experiences with apps, Salesforce and Dreamforce, in order to inspire and excite anyone reading this post. Here’s a look at their empowering (and Astro-friendly) quotes.

Get inspired

“Dreamforce is my favorite event of the year. No where else can you meet with influential individuals from all industries and backgrounds while also learning about the best that Salesforce has to offer. The keynote speakers are always interesting and inspirational while there is always something for everyone at one of the thousands of compelling sessions. Dreamforce is a must-attend event for any Salesforce customer looking to get the most from their org and learn about new ways to help their customers.” - Todd T, Product Owner, CPQ, Verimatrix, Inc.

“2016 was my first Dreamforce and it was a great experience...loved it! I have decided to jump into the Salesforce ecosystem headfirst and can't wait for DF ‘17.” - Frank S., Founder, CRM Command

Connect with others

“Dreamforce provides me (as a Salesforce Administrator) the opportunity to connect with other users, learn about new features and applications, and renew my love for the tool. It is a training event that helps me create a roadmap to success as I work "in the weeds" day in and day out.” - Becky W., Salesforce Administrator, Excel4apps

“[Dreamforce is an] awesome experience with people who understand what I do. The atmosphere is electric and excites me about my career.” - Tammy C., Sales & Marketing Analyst, ResMan

Create new ideas

“This year was an amazing experience, my first Dreamforce! I learned — and got excited with — new ideas for execution and results for my company and my continued learning. I am even more excited to know that next year I can do it all again and set new goals to achieve in the following year!” - Aubrey S., Software Developer III, Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection

“I learned so much in four days. It's always a great experience. No matter what your current goals are for Salesforce, you can find solutions and ideas at Dreamforce.” - Kate H., Director, Salesforce Solutions, Food and Water Watch

Learn from peers

“I'm excited to come back to Dreamforce to hear ideas from my peers, and to absorb as much information regarding the salesforce ecosystem as possible. There is so much information that can be absorbed all week - it’s like drinking from a fire hose!” - Neal G., Salesforce Administrator & Business Analyst, School Specialty

“Dreamforce isn't just a conference... it's THE place to be for anyone involved with Salesforce. This is the best place to see and try new apps, learn from peers, and have some fun. Frankly, I won't consider any new Salesforce apps if I didn't connect with them at Dreamforce first.” - Jason H., Inside Sales Operations Manager, Thomson Reuters

Do more with your business

“Apps allow me to quickly extend the functionality our Salesforce org. Instead of creating a new app and logic from scratch, we can install a new package, which is the fastest way to help our users and customers. We have a number of different packages installed that are each tailored for a different set of business requirements.” - Todd T., Product Owner, CPQ, Verimatrix, Inc.

“I can use apps to 'customize' my instance faster and without writing code. The appexchange is helpful because I can filter to find what I need and I know all the products are vetted by Salesforce.” - Kate H., Director, Salesforce Solutions, Food and Water Watch

“Salesforce lets my company be ahead of the game every time. There is always a new solution that helps us to go one step further, always in a simple manner.” - Edilson A., IT Coordinator, L'Oréal Brazil

Address challenges

“Apps help me solve business problems in a very simple way...what used to take lots of code can now be handled through apps. Apps and AppExchange make it very easy to solve complex business problems that just a few years ago would require custom coding.” - Frank S., Founder, RM Command

“We’re not reinventing the wheel. Apps provide easy solutions for everyday problems.” - Tammy C., Sales & Marketing Analyst, ResMan

“Salesforce has allowed us to gain a deeper understanding of our customers and sales processes with easy-to-use dashboards and analytics. We are now retiring some long-used homegrown processes due to features available in Salesforce. This will save time and resources while providing a better experience for our sales professionals.” - Jason H., Inside Sales Operations Manager, Organization: Thomson Reuters

Save time

“Apps really allow us to add new features within Salesforce without having to develop them ourselves. This saves our company vast amounts of time, money, and other resources.” - Jason H. Inside Sales Operations Manager, Thomson Reuters

“[Apps] help to get access to new and friendly functionalities right out of the box.” - Edilson A., IT Coordinator, L'Oréal Brazil

“We are able to automate and track our marketing campaigns giving us more time and the metrics to make decisions as we move forward. From the sales side it allows us to get a good view of our opportunity funnel and stages.” - Ebon W., Marketing Manager, Connection Enterprise Solutions

Extend and adapt easily

“Salesforce is so easily extensible that is allows us to react to market and company trends in an agile way. No other platform can be used for so many different business needs while still being accessible for all users. Salesforce makes everyone's jobs easier and helps our company perform at it's greatest potential.” - Todd T., Product Owner, CPQ, Verimatrix, Inc.

“Salesforce gives us a platform that is flexible enough to meet our business's needs, and yet rigid enough to maintain a system that is always current, up-to-date, and relevant.” - Neal G., Salesforce Administrator & Business Analyst, School Specialty

Boost productivity

“First and foremost, Salesforce offers my company productivity and visibility. If it's not in Salesforce, it didn't happen. From finances to time off requests, Salesforce gives us the overall picture of organizational activity and health.” - Becky W., Salesforce Administrator, Excel4apps

“It is an opportunity to make substantial business improvements without the need for complex IT solutions. A great opportunity to be a part of the Ecosystem that Salesforce has created.” - Frank S., Founder, CRM Command

Take your business to the next level

”Salesforce has begun to help us create that "bigger" pictures of our members. It makes speaking to our members on a more personal level easier and helps to create deeper relationships between our Credit Union employees and our members.” - Desarae M., Retail Data Analyst, Travis Credit Union

“Salesforce enables us to grow and evolve without having to get a new database to support new work flows. From a database management perspective, there is a ton of knowledge and training and resources available for staff to utilize so we don't have to reinvent the wheel when it comes to training.” - Kate K., Director, Salesforce Solutions, Food and Water Watch

After these inspiring words, we just had to ask: If you could be any cartoon animal, who would you be and why?

“I would be a cartoon red panda because the world needs more red pandas.” - Todd T., Product Owner, CPQ, Verimatrix, Inc.

“After attending Dreamforce ‘16, I'd totally go with being Astro. Astro is smart, mysterious, and ready to do it all.” - Becky W., Salesforce Administrator, Excel4apps

If you want to learn more about the apps from Dreamforce, check out the Ultimate Guide to Lightning ready Apps at Dreamforce ‘16.