The core product (not data) was so mired in tech debt, scaling challenges, and operational burden post-Cedar that we didn’t ship any major new features for ~18m

The core product (not data) was so mired in tech debt, scaling challenges, and operational burden post-Cedar that we didn’t ship any major new features for ~18mo. Finally shipping something major (the Europe region) was a massive effort with a lot of internal political struggles, as was performance dynos. That was why I left, because the writing was on the wall that an organization which had atrophied its ability & urgency to ship new product was not one that could continue to innovate in a meaningful way. Not to mention that headcount was already being starved at this point, so you couldn’t throw people at the problems. I don’t think most people realize just how small the headcount working on the core platform product was, like 8-15 people for the whole time after acquisition. There were a handful of additional big successes like private spaces, compliance certifications, metrics, etc driven by the few remaining people with the burning will to really push stuff forward. But eventually those people moved on, and by that point the company had already lost SFDC’s interest even though revenue growth and profitability had finally come around. Forever thankful for the core group of amazing people like you that I was fortunate to spend a few years living the dream with. I’m glad I appreciated how special it was at the time!