Come with us on a journey as we head back in time to 2014… the year that Ben McCarthy decided to translate his Salesforce expertise into a dedicated blog.
It’s been an eventful decade packed with highlights, moving from a humble hobby blog to a fully-fledged media platform. Here are our top 10 milestones to celebrate 10 years…
1. Getting Noticed
Ben became an MVP back in 2015 thanks to his mission to create high-value, easy-to-navigate content to support professionals working in the Salesforce ecosystem.
A couple of years later, the blog hit one million page views, which is a huge moment for any website.
2. A Series of Glow Ups
Remember this superhero logo? A nostalgic graphic that reminds us of the blog’s very first look – it’s definitely bringing the Ben-ergy!
Since that first iteration, we’ve enjoyed a series of makeovers as the brand has evolved over the years – most notably, our 2023 rebrand (you may recall us going from blue to purple). We couldn’t be happier with our new website, which pulls together all of the articles, videos, courses, and events we publish.
3. Representing SF Ben at Dreamforce
It may not have been Ben’s first visit to Salesforce’s flagship conference, but Dreamforce ‘17 was the first time he attended while representing the blog. Here are Ben and Lucy at the Moscone Center on official Salesforce Ben business!
4. Launching Our First Course
There are dozens of courses available on our learning platform these days, but which was the first to land? We first launched our popular Salesforce Certified Administrator course way back in 2021.
5. YouTube Growth
A couple of years ago, we gave our YouTube channel a new lease of life. Not only did we introduce new style guidelines to up the production value of our videos, but we also started to experiment with different formats. From comprehensive tutorials to quickfire shorts, we’re thrilled to see our channel go from strength to strength.
6. We Reached 100K LinkedIn Followers
Another major milestone for us was hitting 100,000 followers on LinkedIn. From technical content and LinkedIn Live events to polls and memes, it’s been fun finding new ways to connect with our audience.
8. When Ben Met Marc
How could we leave this one out? In 2023, Ben met Mr Salesforce himself, Marc Benioff. Here they are at a CEO dinner in London.
9. A New Home for a Growing Team
Having been a remote company since day one, in November 2023, we made the decision to open an office in central London. There were plenty of reasons for this move, including the creation of our very own recording studio, which has seen our video production go through the roof – no more filming in the lounge!
We also wanted to provide a space for our brilliant (and growing) team of writers, editors, marketers, designers, and technical experts to collaborate in person.
10. We Became Event Planners
We hosted our very first Dreamforce event in 2022 at the Zombie Village tiki bar in San Francisco. The relaxed atmosphere, fun cocktails, and great turnout gave us the confidence to make “Dreamforce afterparty” a regular fixture on our events calendar.
Our next big event came the following year – World Tour London AfterpartyGPT was a huge success, complete with DJ sets, a live brass band, and over 1200 attendees filling up the dancefloor.
Since then, we’ve planned a whole host of events, including networking breakfasts and user groups. And, of course, our 10-year anniversary party, hosted in London just down the road from our new office. Happy birthday to us!
