Indian-origin entrepreneur shares how one cold email to a CEO transformed his career: ‘He responded in an hour’

The email dates back to the time when Salesforce was still growing its footprint as a cloud-based software company. At the time, Nariyawala was a second-year MBA student at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business and decided to reach out directly to Salesforce founder Marc Benioff with a straightforward subject line: “A request for a dream job.”

In the email, Nariyawala expressed his admiration for Salesforce and Benioff, praising the company’s role in transforming the software industry. “I have read almost every single article about salesforce.com and you. I admire the hell out of you, and I absolutely love how salesforce.com is reinventing software industry. I’d absolutely love to work for you at salesforce.com,” he wrote.

He went on to describe his background and work ethic, calling himself “creative, exuberant and entrepreneurial,” and explained how these traits shaped his leadership style.

“My exuberance helps me lead and get my team excited. At salesforce.com, I will achieve exceptional results and make you proud. I appreciate your time, help, and especially your consideration. I look forward to hearing from you,” the email read.

Benioff replied, saying, “Thank you for your note. Erin Flynn will take a look at this for us.”

Years later, Nariyawala revisited the exchange after Benioff congratulated him on a major milestone for his current venture, Matic Robots.

A few days ago, Nariyawala announced that the company had raised $60 million in funding. Sharing the news on X, he wrote, “Announcing $60M for @maticrobots. We didn’t ask ‘What’s the most impressive robot we can demo?’ We asked ‘What’s the most useful robot we can ship? What comes after Roomba?’ Customers answered with their wallets: It’s Matic.”

Benioff responded publicly to the post, saying, “Congrats @mehul. I love my matic. Need a bigger water dish so it can run autonomously for at least a week at a time.”

See here:

i rarely share this, but 21 years ago i cold emailed @Benioff for a job at @salesforce…he responded in an hour.

it changed my life, so this is a full circle moment. very grateful Marc loves @maticrobots. 🙏🏽

can’t wait to build a bigger water tank in v2! 🚀 https://t.co/UlIpsEZnWc pic.twitter.com/Rgu8jtp8Jd

— Mehul (@mehul) January 31, 2026

The post quickly gained traction, garnering numerous reactions, with one commenting, “cold email method is still unpatched.” Another user wrote, “love this so much. every real job i ever had came from a cold email.”

“This is awesome. Cold messaging got me every job I’ve had in tech. Shocking how few people are willing to take the risk,” a third user reacted.