Challenges and Triumphs in Extreme Climbing

Gordon Ritter co-founded Emergence Capital, backing iconic brands like Salesforce, Veeva Systems, Zoom, and more.

We cover his life story in great detail — ranging from his father’s bloody face on the New York Times front page to founding Emergence in 2003. How did he realize $8 billion in fund returns, co-found a company with @benioff, AND run 250 miles across the Swiss Alps?

This conversation is a great example of the culture core to Gordon and Emergence, all underpinned by a relentless drive for competition and optimism.In the best way possible, Gordon is an animal.

He grew up moving from a suburb of Manhattan to a small seaside town in Maine. His parents, both reporters for Life Magazine, instilled in him a deep sense of curiosity, conviction, and courage.

After a successful but unfulfilling stint in banking he left to found two startups before a fateful partnership with Marc Benioff in the earliest days of Salesforce. Seeing the immense, non-consensus potential of the cloud, Gordon then co-founded Emergence. Throughout his life, he’s been driven by a philosophy of "doing hard things," not just in business but in his personal life.

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