20 years of the Trailblazer Community: How a handful of people started a movement
Beyond the careers built and products adopted, the heart of the Trailblazer Community’s 20-year journey has always been the people. The secret sauce isn’t platforms or strategies – it’s the human connections, unconditional support, and genuine relationships built every day.
As we navigate the agentic AI era, those same connections and decades of shared learning have set this community up to thrive in this frontier.
The first ones in the room
In 2006, when the Successforce Discussion Boards and IdeaExchange launched, there was no grand master plan to build something legendary. Erica Kuhl, then manager of Customer Programs at Salesforce, initiated the very first Community Group meeting with the simple intent of helping customers succeed. It started with a handful of people in a room, showing up for each other and figuring things out together.
Among the first to show up were Trailblazers like Steve Molis (known to everyone as SteveMo). The early Trailblazers set a culture defined by radical generosity, transparency, and a relentless commitment to lift up the next person in line. Two decades later, Steve is still a fixture of this community, co-hosting the Military Trailblazing Officer Hours started by Bill Kuehler to help veterans and military spouses build their careers.
Communities often take on the personality of whoever shows up first. The Trailblazer Community hit the jackpot on that front. It’s those foundational relationships that still define who we are today.
A learning movement in the making
When Trailhead launched in 2014, it gave anyone, anywhere a free, hands-on path to learn Salesforce skills at their own pace. But more than just upskilling millions of learners, it transformed learning into a shared journey where people celebrated each other’s wins, badge by badge.
Inspired by Trailhead, Sarah Franklin, former Salesforce CMO and then head of Developer Marketing at Salesforce, coined “Trailblazer” to recognize those who learn, build, and pay it forward. What began as a name quickly became a movement – a rally cry for lifelong learners and visionaries who build their skills while making sure no one gets left behind. In the era of agentic AI, that mindset is our greatest advantage. Trailblazers aren’t just adapting to new technology – they are leading the charge, building agents, and guiding their organizations into the future.
Today, that movement plays out online, in person, and everywhere in between. Members ask questions and share advice in Topics and User Groups on the Trailblazer Community, join more than 650 local and virtual Community Group meetings across 70-plus countries, and gather at Trailblazer Community Conferences built by and for the community.
The numbers only prove what we’ve known all along: showing up for each other is powerful. According to a 2025 study from Valoir, 80% of Salesforce users say the community has helped them extend their skills and work more efficiently, while three in five say it helped land a new job or promotion. The expertise and trust built over these twenty years are precisely what prepare Trailblazers to shape the future of AI and the global Salesforce economy.
20 years of milestones
Here’s a look at some of the key moments that have shaped the community along the way:
- Founding Era (2006–2010): Successforce Discussion Boards & IdeaExchange launch; first Community Group meeting held in Boston; the Salesforce MVP Program launches. The seeds of organized community and recognition programs are planted.
- Grassroots Era (2011–2015): Community-led conferences kick off with Midwest Dreamin’ in Louisville; the first “True to the Core” session debuts at Dreamforce. Community begins self-organizing at scale. Trailhead launches which sparks the Trailblazer movement and its iconic hoodie.
- Trailblazer Era (2016–2020): The Golden Hoodie Program is born, crystallizing “Trailblazer” as a brand and identity. Ohana Slack and the SFDX Discord launch as always-on community spaces. Community expands beyond events into persistent digital spaces and talent pipelines via the Trailblazer Connect launch.
- Global Ohana Era (2021–2025): The pandemic drives User Groups to pivot to virtual meetups to stay connected. The Forum Ambassador program is introduced. 2025 welcomes the first Community Advisory Board.
- 20th Anniversary Era (2026): Architect Ambassadors are introduced to help shape the new architecture framework. The Trailblazer Community celebrates its 20th anniversary at Dreamforce.
None of this happens without Trailblazers who also step up as leaders in the community. Today, more than 300 Salesforce MVPs and a dedicated network of Forum Ambassadors moderate discussions, share technical expertise, and welcome newcomers with the same warmth that started it all in 2006.
Ready for what’s next
Hundreds of MVPs, millions of community members, and countless career journeys grew out of that very first discussion board. While the technology continues to evolve – from early discussion forums to agentic workflows – the core purpose has remained the same: human connection, authentic relationships, and people choosing to answer one more question.
Here’s to the Trailblazers who started it, the ones leading us into the agentic era, and everyone showing up.
We’re celebrating the Trailblazer Community’s 20th anniversary all year long – stay tuned for more stories from its history across a five-part blog series!
