Marc Benioff's Quotes

I always knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur. I started my own software company in high school and went to college to study entrepreneurship.

I have failed a lot in my philanthropy, where I will make philanthropic contributions and they just won't be effective.

I love software and I love technology.

I think the most surprising thing about giving is it takes a while to find out what you're really interested in and what you really want to do.

In school all I wanted to do was build technology. That's what I loved.

Most of all, I discovered that in order to succeed with a product you must truly get to know your customers and build something for them.

The only constant in the technology industry is change.

There are a lot of politicians who are just obstructionists.

Although I loved working on technology - I've always been a computer geek at heart - my professors encouraged me to get a real-world job working with customers.

If someone asks me what cloud computing is, I try not to get bogged down with definitions. I tell them that, simply put, cloud computing is a better way to run your business.

In business, we say that people overestimate what you can do in a year and underestimate what you can do in a decade. This is true in philanthropy as well.

Journalists immediately think of me as a resource for a quote or comment because they know that I will be available to offer fresh insight and meet their deadlines.

Learning how to interact with customers is something that anyone starting any business must master. It's an amazing opportunity to be able to learn the ropes at an established company and then employ your expertise at your own company.

My approach to politics is that I'm not a Democrat or a Republican. I'm an American and I always support candidates I think are great for the country.

Presentation skills are key. People who work for you represent your brand. You want them to present themselves - and represent you - in a certain way.

The future of communicating with customers rests in engaging with them through every possible channel: phone, e-mail, chat, Web, and social networks. Customers are discussing a company's products and brand in real time. Companies need to join the conversation.

The world is being re-shaped by the convergence of social, mobile, cloud, big data, community and other powerful forces. The combination of these technologies unlocks an incredible opportunity to connect everything together in a new way and is dramatically transforming the way we live and work.

You can do things in every part of the world. You can do things in every discipline. You can do large things, you can do small things. But it takes a while to figure out what you actually want to do. And it changes. As you change your interests and desires in philanthropy change, I think you have to be open to that change.