The StartUp Blog at PartnerUp

The following article was written by Kris Olson, director of Microsoft Emerging Business Team.

Does Microsoft work with software startups? You bet!  Microsoft is fundamentally a platform company that succeeds when innovative solutions are built on its platform. Your success is our success.  Interestingly, roughly 96% of Microsoft’s sales go through a channel partner—and for each dollar that Microsoft makes, somewhere between $7-11 are made by the broader ecosystem. There are 640,000 partners in the Microsoft ecosystem. That represents a huge commitment to partnering that spans more than a hundred countries around the globe.  It is core to how Microsoft does business.

Why would Microsoft be interested in startups? Lots of reasons. Startups create products that complement existing Microsoft products by adding features, filling holes and leveraging the Microsoft platforms. They also do other things.
• Innovative partner products that take advantage of the latest Microsoft technology encourage our customers to upgrade to the latest release.
• Successful startups draw attention to the benefits of building on the Microsoft platform and the value of partnering with Microsoft.
• Small startups often grow into big companies that need lots of software.
• Working with startups keeps us close to the cutting edge of technology — a good barometer for what is coming in the next 5 years.
• Startups are the best source for new partners, and sometimes lead to acquisitions.

How does Microsoft help startups succeed?

Microsoft has a series of programs that can help startup companies. Most of them are programs that you, the startup, can take advantage of yourself – working your way up the ladder to secure more resources. There are a few small programs where Microsoft actively engages with startups, but more on those later.

All startups start with the Empower program. Empower costs $379 a year for up to two years. It provides LOTS of software for developing your solutions, as well as Office products for internal use. The Web site linked above gives you the run down. 

“Without Microsoft’s Empower Program or Premier Scalability Lab, Tutor.com’s product development would not be where it is today. Our partnership has saved us significant expense in software and hardware, enabling us to make maximal use of limited resources.”
–Viktor Andonov VP, Software Development, Tutor.com

All startups also join the Microsoft Partner Program (MSPP). You can start for free as “Registered,” and work your way up to “Certified,” then “Gold.” You get access to skills training and, at higher levels, resources such as market places and Microsoft-run telesales programs to help you acquire customers. Historically, Microsoft product groups that want to work with startups prefer to have the company be part of MSPP, so if you want to engage with Microsoft, do join this program.
Another program that can help startups is InnovateOn — “a central resource to help you build, test and market your solution based on Microsoft technologies.”   This resource is free. Most of you also probably know about Channel 9, the irreverent insider’s guide for developers.

Take advantage of Microsoft’s central Web site for startups around the globe through the Microsoft Startup Zone.  There are many resources for startups, including more than 200 success stories of how startups work with Microsoft. Check out the series of interviews with the CTOs of startups on why they chose Microsoft technology. The Free Software button lists many Microsoft software products that you can download for free. So if there is a partner program for startups at Microsoft, you will learn about it there. Stay tuned!

Microsoft is actively looking to work with high potential startups.  We announced the Microsoft Startup Accelerator Program last year. “’When we launched the Microsoft Startup Accelerator Program last fall, our goal was to identify innovative early-stage startups that were a strategic fit for Microsoft and to create an exceptional opportunity for them to work with us and our global customer base for mutual success,’ said Dan’l Lewin, corporate vice president of Strategic and Emerging Business Development at Microsoft.” This program is currently being run in five countries – France, Germany, India, the United Kingdom and the United States – with more to come. 

The Microsoft Emerging Business Team (EBT) runs this program. We review roughly 1,000 startups a year and identify 200 to work with more closely. We select them based on their innovation, strategic fit with Microsoft’s businesses and our ability to make a difference in their success. EBT follows six market areas – business apps, collaboration, consumer/entertainment, infrastructure, mobile, and online content and services.  You can read more about how and what we do on our Web site– the guide to working with Microsoft for software startups and their investors.

Answers to a few common questions that we get asked:

1. Does Microsoft invest in startups?  We are typically not a direct investor.

2. Does Microsoft acquire startups? Definitely, but in the big scheme of things, relatively few compared to the total number of startups out there.  Don’t create your strategy around being acquired by Microsoft. Check these blog posts on the Microsoft Startup Zone. Here is the official acquisitions site.

3. Does Microsoft work with venture capitalists and angel investors?  Absolutely. We meet with 50 of the top firms each year, sharing insights into market trends, Microsoft’s strategic direction as it affects their investment strategy and their portfolio companies that on our platform. Read what Dan’l Lewin say on his blog.

4. Do you have any tips for working with Microsoft? Read the blog posts on partnering with Microsoft. Don Dodge of the EBT also recommends that startups exploit the leading edge of our product line — where it makes sense for your customers and your business. In many ways our competition is our last release, so helping us show off the value of new features — in say, Vista.

If you are a startup, be sure to tell us what else you would like to see on our Microsoft Startup Zone site – and take our super short survey. Thanks!