Acquired Episode 15: ExactTarget (acquired by Salesforce) with Scott Dorsey

Ben and David return to make their first foray into enterprise software, covering Salesforce’s $2.5B acquisition of ExactTarget in 2013 with the help of special guest and ExactTarget cofounder & CEO, Scott Dorsey.   Technical note: due to an issue we didn’t catch during recording, audio quality is significantly lower than usual for this episode (especially David’s voice). We apologize but hope you’ll give it a chance anyway— Scott offers great wisdom & insights, and the ExactTarget success story is a inspiring one underdog entrepreneurs, especially (but not limited to!) anyone located in the Midwest or elsewhere outside of traditional "Silicon Valley-style” tech hubs. Sponsors:WorkOS: https://bit.ly/workos25Sierra: https://bit.ly/acquiredsierraSentry: https://bit.ly/acquiredsentryAnthropic: https://bit.ly/acquiredclaude25More Acquired!Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodesJoin the SlackSubscribe to ACQ2Merch Store!© Copyright 2015-2025 ACQ, LLCTopics covered include: The decision to start ExactTarget post-internet bubble and in Indianapolis, with zero software experience between Scott and cofounders Chris Baggott & Peter McCormickRaising initial money from friends & family, followed by early investment and mentoring from Indianapolis venture pioneer Bob ComptonBuilding and scaling a great sales organization within a technology companyThe importance of focusing early on a clearly defined target market (SMBs in the case of ExactTarget), and then “stair-stepping” up as the product and business scale grow over timeExactTarget’s unsuccessful first IPO filing during the financial crisisBuilding a "capital-efficient” early stage company, and the value of raising growth capital at the right time to step on the acceleratorThe value of “secondary” investments allowing founders, employees & early investors to “stay hungry” by achieving some liquidity along the wayWhen and how to expand internationally and the import