Marc Benioff reveals how just one meeting with an Indian 'Mata' in Kerala gave him the idea for $250 billion Salesforce

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has said his visit to India in the late 1990s played a key role in shaping his vision for the company. The tech executive spoke about his long-standing connection with India and how the idea of Salesforce came together during a trip to Kerala in 1996-97.

The $248-billion company’s founder said he was visiting Kerala to meet Mata Amritanandamayi, the Indian spiritual leader whom he calls his guru. It was during this trip that he shared his plans for Salesforce and received advice that has remained central to his business philosophy.

“I was on my way to see my guru down in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. I was with her, I was explaining my vision for Salesforce, which was a new technology model and a new business model. And she reminded me, of course, of the importance of giving back, it was very much in that spirit that we have built a different kind of company,” said Benioff.

Meeting in a Kerala village

Benioff described the meeting as a moment that stayed with him throughout his entrepreneurial journey. He said philanthropy became a core part of his life after that visit.

“It was like a scene from a movie,” the CEO reportedly told the Sunday Mail in a 2020 interview. “We’re in the middle of nowhere in this tiny Indian village and everybody’s dressed in white and orange and there’s incense wafting.”

He added:
“She looked right at me and said, ‘In your quest to change the world, don’t forget to do something for somebody else’.”

Spiritual guidance behind company values

Benioff said this advice from Mata Amritanandamayi was what he had come looking for during his journey to India.

“Be nice to people,” he said, summing up the message that inspired the values behind Salesforce.

This is not the first time Benioff has spoken about Mata Amritanandamayi's influence on his life. He has often credited her guidance for encouraging him to integrate social responsibility into Salesforce’s operations.