Salesforce vs Zapier: Founders, CEOs and History
Salesforce was founded in 1999 by Marc Benioff, Parker Harris, Dave Moellenhoff and is led by Marc Benioff. Zapier was founded in 2011 by Wade Foster, Bryan Helmig, Mike Knoop and is led by Wade Foster.
Company facts
Salesforce
- Founded
- 1999
- Headquarters
- San Francisco, California
- Current CEO
- Marc Benioff
- Employees
- 83,334
Zapier
- Founded
- 2011
- Headquarters
- San Francisco, California, United States
- Current CEO
- Wade Foster
- Employees
- 800
Founders
Salesforce
Marc Benioff
Marc Benioff is a fiercely visionary American technology entrepreneur, highly aggressive corporate architect, and the profoundly influential CEO and founding patriarch fundamentally responsible for creating the massively dominant Salesforce cloud software empi…
Parker Harris
Parker Harris is an absolutely brilliant software engineer, fiercely skilled digital architect, and the profoundly influential technical co-founder fundamentally responsible for programming the incredibly complex infrastructural bedrock of the massive Salesfor…
Dave Moellenhoff
Dave Moellenhoff is a highly astute software engineer, fiercely visionary digital operator, and the profoundly influential technical co-founder fundamentally responsible for architecting the highly critical security and multi-tenant frameworks of the massive S…
Frank Dominguez
Frank Dominguez is a fiercely brilliant software engineer, highly strategic digital architect, and the profoundly influential technical co-founder fundamentally responsible for the incredibly robust frontend engineering and early product development of the mas…
Zapier
Wade Foster
Wade Foster co-founded Zapier in 2011 and has been its CEO since the company was founded. He left his job to work on Zapier full-time in December 2011 and led it through Y Combinator in 2012.
Bryan Helmig
Bryan Helmig co-founded Zapier and began building the original integration tool with Wade Foster in September 2011. He joined the company full-time in April 2012 and led much of the early engineering behind Zapier's trigger-and-action automation engine.
Mike Knoop
Mike Knoop joined the founding team in late 2011 and went full-time in May 2012, the month Zapier launched its public beta. He worked on product and later led Zapier's early AI efforts, including the 2024 launch of Zapier Central.
CEOs and their tenures
Salesforce
- Marc Benioff1999–present
Chair and Chief Executive Officer
Benioff has led Salesforce for its entire history, apart from co-CEO periods with Keith Block (2018-2020) and Bret Taylor (2021-2023).
Source - Parker Harris1999–present
Co-founder, Director and Chief Technology Officer, Slack
Harris is the remaining co-founder in an executive role and a member of the board.
Source
Zapier
- Wade Foster2011–present
Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder
Co-founded Zapier and has led it as CEO since founding. He kept the company fully remote and funded growth from revenue after the 2012 seed round.
Source
Timeline: Salesforce and Zapier side by side
1999Salesforce
Salesforce is founded
Marc Benioff, Parker Harris, Dave Moellenhoff, and Frank Dominguez founded Salesforce to deliver CRM through a browser.
2004Salesforce
NYSE IPO
Salesforce completed its initial public offering and gave the SaaS model public-market proof.
2005Salesforce
AppExchange launches
Salesforce opened the platform to third-party applications, strengthening its ecosystem moat.
2011Zapier
Development begins
Wade Foster and Bryan Helmig started building the tool in September, and Mike Knoop joined later that year.
2012Zapier
Public beta and Y Combinator
The public beta opened in May, and the founders joined Y Combinator in June.
2014Zapier
Profitability
Zapier became profitable.
2017Zapier
De-location package
Zapier offered new hires $10,000 to move out of the San Francisco Bay Area.
2019Salesforce
Tableau acquisition closes
Salesforce added analytics and visualization through the Tableau acquisition.
2021Salesforce
Slack acquisition closes
Salesforce acquired Slack to add workplace collaboration as a workflow surface for CRM data.
2021Zapier
$5 billion valuation
Sequoia Capital and Steadfast Financial bought shares from early investors in a secondary sale.
2024Zapier
Zapier Central, Vowel, and NoCodeOps
Zapier launched Central for AI bots and acquired Vowel and NoCodeOps.
2025Zapier
Agents, MCP, and Utopian Labs
Zapier Agents reached general availability, Zapier MCP launched, and Zapier acquired Utopian Labs in October.
2026Salesforce
FY2026 revenue reaches $41.525B
Salesforce reported $41.525 billion in FY2026 revenue, with subscription and support revenue of $39.388 billion.
2026Salesforce
Q2 fiscal 2027 and raised guidance
Salesforce reported Q2 fiscal 2027 revenue of $11.345 billion, up 11%, Agentforce and Data 360 ARR of nearly $3.9 billion, and raised fiscal 2027 guidance to $46.1-46.4 billion.
Acquisitions
Salesforce
- Informatica2025$8B
- Own2024$1.9B
- PredictSpring and Tenyx2024Undisclosed
- Airkit.ai2023Undisclosed
- Spiff2023Undisclosed
- Troops.ai2022Undisclosed
Zapier
- Utopian Labs2025Undisclosed
- Vowel2024Undisclosed
- NoCodeOps2024Undisclosed
- Makerpad2021Undisclosed
Questions about Salesforce vs Zapier
Who is the CEO of Salesforce, Inc. and Zapier Inc.?
Salesforce, Inc. is led by Marc Benioff and Zapier Inc. is led by Wade Foster. Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.
When was Salesforce, Inc. founded vs Zapier Inc.?
Salesforce, Inc. was founded in 1999 — 12 years before Zapier Inc., which was founded in 2011. Salesforce, Inc.'s longer operating history gives it a deeper track record but also potentially more institutional inertia compared to the younger Zapier Inc..
How many employees does Salesforce, Inc. have compared to Zapier Inc.?
Salesforce, Inc. employs approximately 83,334 people, while Zapier Inc. employs approximately 800. Salesforce, Inc. has the larger workforce at 83,334 employees, compared to Zapier Inc.'s 800. A higher headcount does not necessarily imply greater efficiency — it often reflects differences in business model (e.g., manufacturing vs. software).
Where are Salesforce, Inc. and Zapier Inc. headquartered?
Both Salesforce, Inc. and Zapier Inc. are headquartered in United States, meaning they operate under the same primary regulatory and tax environment.
Who founded Salesforce, Inc. and Zapier Inc.?
Salesforce, Inc. was founded by Marc Benioff, Parker Harris, Dave Moellenhoff, Frank Dominguez. Zapier Inc. was founded by Wade Foster, Bryan Helmig, Mike Knoop.
Which company has a longer operating history — Salesforce, Inc. or Zapier Inc.?
Salesforce, Inc. has been operating for approximately 27 years, making it the more established of the two companies. Zapier Inc. has been in operation for around 15 years. A longer operating history often signals greater institutional resilience and brand recognition, though it can also mean slower adaptation to new market conditions.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Salesforce vs Zapier overview