After a rather intense week with late nights, a series of hiccups, and then, eventually, some successes, the Emerging Business Team in the UK are finally able to announce the Winner of EMEA Mobile Incubation Week. I thought it would be good to start with a brief description of how the week was conducted, which culminated in a final pitch session on Friday morning in front of a panel of mobility experts.
The week was supported by two Microsoft Partners, Murano Software, based in California (who also supported the original Incubation Week in California); and Avanade. Murano Software provided two Project Managers, as the full-time support of eight software engineers (via Skype), based in Russia. Avanade provided two Project Managers and supported four out of the eight start-ups.
The start-ups were each allocated a room in the Customer Centre of the Microsoft London Victoria Offices for the week. The four Project Managers distributed their time between the start-ups over the course of the week. The Russian-based Murano Software Engineers were each assigned a start-up, and they communicated with the teams via Skype. In the words of Dimitri Nikouline, MuranoSoft President, miracles happened over the course of the week, as several start-ups were able to develop and deliver a Windows Mobile 6.5 application within four days. These applications will be featured in the upcoming launch of the Windows Marketplace for Mobile.
The start-ups also had two opportunities to pitch in front of different audiences in advance of the final pitch session on Friday. On the Wednesday, several team members from the Windows Mobile Product Team, as well as key players from the Enterprise Sales team who own the Microsoft relationships Europe's largest operators, provided constructive feedback to the start-ups. On the Thursday, all the companies took the opportunity to pitch to Platform Strategy Advisors from the Developer and Platform Evangelism team, who were able to provide feedback on both the technology and the business models.
Feedback from the participants thus far has been very positive – many told me that they were pleasantly surprised by the level of support offered by Microsoft, as well as Murano Software and Avanade. The time spent with the dedicated Russia-based MuranoSoft engineers via Skype was invaluable. One start-up mentioned to me that this saved him weeks of development time, thereby really improving his chances of speed to market. All also appreciated the opportunity to network, with both the Mobile Product Team and the Emerging Business Team, as well as amongst themselves and other industry experts. A successful week overall!
The Participants:
- BlueID (by Baimos)
- Comufy
- Mobots (by Deimos Space)
- Reperion
- Rummble/Total Hotspots
- The Stitch (by Goodway Technologies)
- ubiquii (by SOMA)
- Wubud
The EMEA team awarded prizes over three categories:
- Most Improved Application (over the course of the week)
- Most Innovative Application (as compared to the other entrants, as well as in the general marketplace)
- Overall Winner of the Week
The judging panel consisted of:
Steve Butcher, Senior Consultant, Avanade; Guillermo Escofet, Editor, Mobile Media, Informa Telecoms and Media; Carlos Espinal, Doughty Hanson & Co Technology Ventures; Dimitri Nikouline, President, Murano Software; Mark Taylor, Senior Director, Developer and Platform Evangelism, Microsoft; Barrie Whipp, Executive Chairman, Crimson Tide; Milo Yiannopoulos, Consulting Editor (Technology), Telegraph.co.uk
And the winning teams are:
WINNER: Mobots (by Deimos Space)
- The Mobots application allows mobile users to create small personal applications on their Windows phone by linking together any of a wide range of preset functions. In a noisy night club, you can't hear your phone ring, but with a personal Mobot, when it recognises a friend calling, automatically sends an SMS letting that friend know where you are. The judges saw Mobots as a potential game changer using a disruptive technology which may be able to open up the gateway to having services via the mobile phone. The ideal scenario iss to see this integrated with the phone OS as part of the runtime environment, so that people can discover the application and customise accordingly. Mobile mashups for the masses!
Most Improved Application: Rummble/Total Hotspots
- According to Dimitri Nikouline, the Rummble / Total Hotspots team performed a near "miracle" and pulled together a decent working version of the application within the week though a combination of hard work and great teamwork with MuranoSoft. The judges noted a number of factors in play which made it an interesting application to watch. Their proprietary trust algorithm impressed everyone and the judging panel saw a number of great applications of the technology over social networks and other areas. The technology was interesting and innovative, and they saw a number of opportunities for business models.
Most Innovative Application: Comufy
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People have a combination of 7-8 different ways to communicate with each other, resulting a information overload. Comufy addresses this problem by allowing the user to decide who can contact them, when and how - no more annoying calls or messages, while ensuring they receive those most important to them. Solutions like this have a real future, according to the judging panel, and this provides interesting opportunities both as a service and as a product, which could be of interest to both Telcos and Infrastructure Providers.
On the heels of a very successful event in the U.S., Microsoft is hosting the second Mobile Incubation Week in London. After sifting through many applications, we think we have a really interesting group of mobile ISVs from across EMEA and are very excited to be working with them throughout the week to help incubate their applications on our Mobile 6.5 platform.
The format will be the same as Mobile Incubation Week in Mountain View. The event will feature technical and business gurus from Microsoft, technology veterans who have built their own Windows Mobile applications, and influential venture capitalists and industry experts. We will lead interactive discussions, provide helpful advice, and facilitate actual application development on the Windows Mobile platform. As in the Mountain View event, at the end of the week, we will select a winner who will be eligible for prizes and special PR opportunities.
Please follow the UK Team Blog throughout the week, and I will keep you up to speed about what has been happening as we work to incubate the ISV applications.
Drum Roll please.....and the Finalists are:
Goodway Technologies, Sweden
Founded in 2007, Goodway are based in Eslov, Sweden. Goodway has developed a mobile j2me/j2ee user created content software and service application with a social location context. It is in beta
and has not been publicly released yet. In the next generation of this software Goodway are building a photo transforming application layer on top to let the users stitch photos together into panoramic views of buildings, creating a street view to connect to online map services as Virtual Earth.
Rummble, UK
Founded in 2006, Rummble are based in London, UK. Rummble make it easy to find stuff nearby which you love using this is done using trusted location-based recommendations sent instantly to your mobile. You should be able to walk out of a building and within 60 seconds discover what places or points of interest are nearby that YOU will like. Rummble is not a niche application, it is designed for the man in the street. More people than ever are eager to utilise their phones beyond SMS and phone calls. Windows Mobile 6.5 is another major step toward releasing the potential of a users mobile device.
Total Hotspots, UK
Total Hotspots give you a access to a huge database of wireless hotspots. Wherever you go Total Hotspots gives you precise details, locations and pricing for over 170,000 hotspots in 100+ countries around the world and more are being created all the time. In addition to this you can find the Wi-Fi that suits you. Total Hotspots integrates Rummble's 'trust profile' algorithm to give you personalised rating for locations, based on other places you like, your social network, and the wider community. You can quickly add, rate, review, tag and photograph your own hotspots and share them with others.
Wubud, UK
Wubud is an application driven social network for mobile people allowing you to take your social network in your back pocket everywhere you go, enabling you to locate friends and venues on a map and share your world. Providing users with the ability to locate friends when they're close by and arrange to meet them, explore the cool hangouts, the hip and happening parties, and find out who's going to be there, find a venue recommended by a friend, share your photos, location, reviews and social networks with friends.
Deimos-Space, Spain
The Deimos-Space application is really innovative and allows end users (non-developers) to create small applications on its own mobile device using a very easy visual graphic interface. Nowadays, User Generated Content is driving the internet. Furthermore, Web 2.0 API´s and mash-ups are exploding the creation of new application on the web, BUT for the first time, "End Users" can create small applications with all the technologies available in its own handsets.
Baimos, Germany
Our Application "BlueID" is the digital bunch of keys for your mobile phone. You can receive digital keys like a electronic ticket on your mobile and use the mobile like a remote control to open, close or operate doors, barriers, cars or computer. In addition to facility management and automotive versions of the application "BlueID" we will launch a new authentication product "BlueID Login" in July 2009.
Reperion, Netherlands
Our mission is to provide you with the most useful, enjoyable and inspiring GPS application for your mobile digital companion! Have fun with GPS while exploring! Reperion enables you to show your tracks in real-time, in Virtual Earth 3D or Google Earth, you can upload video and pictures straight to your live track, send and receive i-SMS, find nearby friends, get alerts for millions of types of actual nearby events...broadcast a message to people around you.... Your Location....is Everything!
SOMA Barcelona, Spain
Based on Bluetooth technology, it is designed to identify people in a 10 meters distance and infer connections between them through their profile information. Since we just use Bluetooth to identify devices and not to connect to them, our software is not intrusive in any way or presents any security concern. Our solution consists of a central server, which contains information about users and different matchmaking methods. Mobile devices can connect to the server via 3G or GPRS to get information about any possible matching and users' contact info.
Comufy, UK
Comufy is the next generation communication platform: it allows YOU to decide who can contact you, when and how - no more annoying calls or messages, whilst still receiving the important
ones. No need to give up your current means of communication, as Comufy manages them all. You can "comufy" anywhere through intuitive web and mobile interfaces, providing a unique and pleasant user experience.
We've recently published case studies on two of the companies on the Microsoft Startup Accelerator Program, Corebridge and Viapost. Both are great examples of the business benefits that startup companies can get from using Microsoft technologies. Through the Accelerator Program we have provided these companies with some additional assistance, but the many advantages that the technology provides are of course open to any startup company that chooses the Microsoft platform.
Today I spent the afternoon and evening at the Second Chance Tuesday event in London. In the afternoon there was an "Early Stage Funding Workshop" for an audience of about 100 companies, which consisted of a panel discussion with entrepreneurs and investors talking about what setting up and investing in a business is really like.
- Richard Moross, founder and CEO of moo.com, gave a very personal view of his own journey from the insight and idea, including all the stumbles and mistakes, to where he is today, with a company that sells to customers in over 140 countries. Like many successful entrepreneurs, his story is one of a great focus on the vision, lots of energy and persistence, and readiness to adapt to the circumstances and keep looking for a formula that works. A couple of other key points were around having clarity in your business model and building the network or relationships of people who can help you be successful.
- Mattias Ljungman, partner in Atomico Investments, spoke about the idea behind Atomico, which was set up by the founders Skype. They feel that having entrepreneurs investing in entrepreneurs brings ideas and insights into the process which you may not get from traditional investors. He talked about how trust and the "feel" of the business is important, and the opportunities and challenges that face today's web businesses that often sell to a global market from day one. His advice: it's essential to learn from and admit your mistakes, but your focus should always be forward-looking.
- Sean Seaton-Rogers, associate partner in Balderton Capital, one of the leading European Tech VCs with $1.5bn under management. Sean explained the overall VC investment process, from Seed through Series A, B, C, etc, to Pre-IPO or Buy-Out. He also talked about things the VC investment could be spent on, such as partnerships, hiring staff, international expansion, building infrastructure, and how the VC could help with this. One important point he made was when not to raise VC funding, e.g. if what you've got is a feature not a product, if the market you're addressing is too small, and if you are not financially motivated. If you do go to a VC for funding, then you lose the opportunity for a smaller exit that could still be personally lucrative (a £10m sale may be a long way short of what the VC is looking for but could still make you enough monye to retire to the beach), you have a co-owner who will have a say in how you run the business, you can't run it as a lifestyle business anymore, and you're committed to 3+ years with the VC. He also spoke about the importance to find the right investor, who is working in your space but without directly competitive companies on the portfolio, with a good track record. He then went into the details of the process, which will typically take a minimum of three months.
- Simon Murdoch, founder and CEO of FriendsAbroad.com, previously VP Europe for amazon.com and also a VC and angel investor. Having set up Bookpages, an on-line bookstore in 1996 and selling to Amazon in 1998. As an early-stage VC he has invested in nine companies, three of which failed, three didn't take off, two were modest successes, and one, Betfair, has been a big success. A 20% success rate would be fairly typical for a tech VC, but the idea is of course that the successes are so big that they more than compensate for the failures. He also invested in Shazam, which is now doing well, but the four founders no longer work for the company and three of them only have small stakes, and the lesson from this is that once you cede ownership of the business you need to be a good entrepreneur to maintain a role in the company - your status of Founder doesn't protect you if the business needs to change. It can also be hard for an entrepreneur to know how well you're doing when you're trying to get a VC on board, because you're typically speaking to an individual VC partner who then needs to sell the proposition to all the of the other partners, and until you've had an opportunity to pitch to and convince all of them, you really can't be sure you have a deal. VC funding is not for everyone, and most companies would do well by starting to build sales with a minimal amount of personal or angel investment and only go to VC when you really need a bigger investment.
After a networking break the evening event started, where the auditorium at the Royal College of Physicians was filled to the brim with over 300 people; entrepreneurs, investors, and media. We were treated to a rare public appearance of Niklas Zennström, founder of KaZaA, Skype, Joost and Atomico Investments in a "fireside" chat with BBC Technology Correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones.
Niklas went through the ups and downs of his serial entrepreneurship career, from being sued out of existence with KaZaA, working for a year with no funding when starting Skype, to re-visiting his old friends in the media world from the KaZaA days with his new venture, Joost.
Rory kept Niklas on his toes with some good questions, both for Niklas (Q: "So you've done three 'successful' start-ups but none of them making any profit?", A: "Actually, Skype is profitable, with number of users, revenue and profit all growing."), and for the audience (Q: "Who here has tried Joost?", A: a large majority of the audience. Q: "Who here is using Joost regularly?" A: not one hand raised that I could see) - in his defence Niklas pointed out that the premium on-line TV/Film market that Joost is addressing is still at a very early stage.
Overall it was a very entertaining session, and gave a few insights into the thinking and processes behind companies that have achieved a critical mass of users in a short time. This involves things like focus on solving problems that people care about (in this case sharing files, making cheaper/free international calls) in a way that is "friction-free" (easy to acquire and install), easy to use, and so compelling that you get the viral effect of users introducing their friends to the service.
I think Niklas perhaps underplayed the level of technical sophistication that is also necessary to be successful. At the root of each of these ventures is some very nifty networking and peer-to-peer algorithms that required some serious technical innovation. Building a business around a core piece of intellectual property is more important than it sometimes appears in the Web 2.0 world, and the current generation of web entrepreneurs should think carefully about this.
From a Microsoft perspective, this event was important because we used it to announce the next five companies to join the Microsoft Startup Accelerator programme. They are:
- Rugged Logic – provides Financial Directors with a structured financial planning solution combining historical data and business drivers with the ability to add their own business understanding and environmental factors to create a financial picture of their business in to the future. It’s delivered through Microsoft technology such as Microsoft Excel & Excel Services, Microsoft SharePoint Services and Microsoft Performance Point Services. Rugged Logic is the only accredited Financial forecasting Solution by the Institute of Chartered Accountants (England & Wales).
- Silobreaker – Silobreaker is a search service for news and current events that that delivers meaning and relevance beyond traditional search and aggregation engines. With content from some 10,000 news, blog, research and multimedia sources, Silobreaker’s innovative analysis and graphical search results enable users to quickly and easily get more from the stories of the day
- Psytechnics – based in Ipswich, Psytechnics is an exciting new approach to Voice over IP which fills a gap in the market for monitoring and managing voice and video quality. It provides a software solution for assessing and managing Quality of Experience (QoE) for real-time voice and video. Psytechnics is used by service providers and Enterprises to monitor, manage and improve IP Telephony, video and unified Communications solutions in both fixed and mobile environments.
- SportsDo.net – SportsDo.net targets sports enthusiast such as marathon runners, cyclists, mountain bikers, and skiers who have an interest in mapping their circuit or training runs. The service uses GPS to provide a breakdown of where the user has been, key statistics such as time, speed and distance can provide a 3D online image of the route taken. This information can even be shared in real-time with friends and families during sporting events.
- T5M.com – launched in December 2007 and founded by Charlie Muirhead, T5M.com positions itself as the fifth medium after TV, radio, print and online. It collates exclusive interviews from notable figures from all walks of life including Hollywood and politics.
Although these companies operate in some very different spaces, they all have some great capabilities, and we're looking forward to working with them towards building successful businesses. We will of course be writing more about all of our Accelerator partners here in the future.
The Second Chance Tuesday event also had a number of media outlets in attendance, and I expect we'll see some coverage on Channel 4, Startups.co.uk, TechCrunch, and Newspepper amongst others. On Tuesday I was at the launch of the Ideas Igloo at Thames Valley University, Ealing, which was one of the Enterprise Week events going on this week. The Ideas Igloo is a roadshow of events that will visit about 20 universities between now March. This is all part of raising awareness and getting more young people involved in entrepreneurship, which is of course important for all of us since the nature of work is changing. Entrepreneurial drive and skills are needed if you're starting a new company (obviously), but are also highly sought after by established companies that are looking to be more competitive through innovative technologies or business practices. Part of the Ideas Igloo is a workshop to give the students advice on how to turn an idea into a business, which includes advice that has been developed by our researchers at Microsoft Research, Cambridge (see below). Then we had a group of four entrepreneur-types, including Alex Tew of MillionDollarHomePage fame and James Eder of studentbeans.com, who sat on a "Dragons' Den"-style panel, to see pitches from students on cool ideas that they had come up with. It was a fun session with some very inventive ideas. With each presenter given only 60 seconds to do their pitch, they really had to think hard about how to get their point across, and on the whole they did a very good job. The top three ideas where: - A system to provide musicians with a virtual audience to give them a more realistic rehearsal environment
- Lifescape, a web magazine for ethical lifestyles and products
- A service providing personalised, customised clothing items
The winner got £150 and the opportunity to go forward to a national final together with the winners from approximately 20 other universities , where all the winners will compete to win £2,000 plus a package of Microsoft products to help them get their business underway. The event had a great buzz about it, and Jonathan Moules from the Financial Times was there to cover it for ft.com. Then on Wednesday I got invited to chat about it on the Chris Evans drivetime show on BBC Radio 2 with an audience of many millions of listeners. My three minutes of fame happened about 2 hours and 30 minutes into the 14th of November show, which is available to listen to on the BBC web site until next Wednesday, the 21st. So Ideas Igloo is pretty cool, and I think the advice that my Microsoft Research colleagues is useful for everyone who wants to turn an idea into reality, not just students: Get Your Entrepreneurial Game On Microsoft Research Cambridge Offers Five Tips on How to Be an Innovator Ask any successful entrepreneur, and they will tell you that what drives them is not just the financial rewards but also the opportunity to do something that changes the world. With each new idea that takes hold in the marketplace, an innovator has — in a small way — changed the way the world works. At Microsoft’s research labs in Cambridge, UK, over 100 people are focusing their talents every day on innovation in computing. They are inspired not only by the excitement of invention itself, but also by the potential of software to address some of humankind’s biggest challenges — things like sustainable living, healthcare and modeling climate change. So what does it take to be an innovator, in technology or any other field? Microsoft has come up with a series of tips, based on learnings from its Cambridge lab, to help aspiring entrepreneurs develop great ideas and bring them into the world. The software leader is sharing these tips with Higher Education and Further Education students at a series of innovation roadshows, which launch in London during Enterprise Week and roll out nationwide in 2008. Andrew Herbert, MD at Microsoft Research Cambridge says, “Innovation is at the heart of everything we do at Microsoft, and we believe it is within everyone’s reach – from PhD graduates working in our laboratory to foundation degree students. By sharing our experience with students nationwide, we hope to inspire a new generation of young people to start thinking in fresh ways, and give them the confidence to be the innovators of the future.” 1. Look for the gaps. Often the best ideas are right in front of you — you just have to see them. Innovators are consummate observers of what people do and how things get done. They identify gaps between existing products and technologies, and consider how a new approach might be more efficient, engaging or cool.
For example, Microsoft researchers observed that traditional answering machines do a poor job of helping people manage their voice messages, particularly for an entire family. So they developed the Bubble Board, a wall-mounted touch screen that gives families a simple, visual way to identify and manage individual phone messages.
Try this: Devote a half day to watching how different people interact with an object of your choice, such as a mobile phone or a bicycle or a ticket kiosk. How could the object be improved for a better user experience? What other objects are related to your chosen object’s function? What new strategies might be used to accomplish the same objective, but smarter, faster or more enjoyably? 2. Many heads are better than one. Inspiration drawn from numerous disciplines tends to lead to the most successful products, and rarely does one person embody all of the knowledge required to develop a viable concept. That’s why collaboration is so important to the process of innovation. Surface computing — tabletop computer displays that interact with people and objects in a remarkably intuitive way — is one such example. The research behind surface computing drew upon people who understand electronics, human-computer interaction and computer vision techniques. Microsoft’s Cambridge lab added another layer of innovation on top of this with C-Slate, which allows people at different locations to work together using surface computing. For this project, social anthropologists worked closely with the technical developers to create a useful and intuitive interface.
Try this: Invite two or three people who represent very different educational and professional backgrounds to a brainstorming session. Present your innovative idea to the group and ask them to offer their impressions and related ideas. Lead the discussion to capture their creative thinking and practical insights. 3. Do your research. If your idea is so great, why hasn’t someone else already thought of it? The internet is your first stop, to find out whether your idea has already been developed. Online articles, patent information, blogs and company websites are all potential sources of relevant information. You should also reach out to primary sources of information. What experts can you identify who would be willing to advise you and share their knowledge?
Try this: Identify a technical or market-focused expert and make an appointment to discuss your innovative idea. Consider your questions carefully beforehand, to ensure you gain the insight that this person can provide.
4. Don’t let failure get you down. Failure is an integral part of innovation and, while painful, it is one of the best teachers. The hard part is recognising when things are going badly, and being honest with yourself about it. Of course not all ideas are great ideas and timing is also an important factor in market adoption. You have to be able to admit when it’s time to quit, and recover from that.
At Microsoft, researchers minimise the number of dead-end projects by placing high value on peer review. By critiquing each other’s work, researchers receive critical help identifying the weaknesses in their concept. As an innovator, you must become comfortable listening to skeptics and develop the personal confidence to defend your convictions, while recognising that others may have insight that you do not.
Try this: Develop a 1-minute sales pitch about your product and test it on five people for their reaction. Encourage them to give you their honest impression — the positive and the negative. 5. Develop your business know-how. For any start-up, the research and initial concept typically represents 1% of the overall investment. Getting that product to market consumes about 10%. And the remaining 89% is spent on sales, marketing and support. As an innovator, you will have to develop a feel for business. This does not mean you need a business degree, but you will need the perspective to entice investors and introduce your product to the marketplace. You will also need to develop a business model that protects your intellectual property and prevents others from taking your idea and doing it better. This protection could take the form of a patent or it could hinge on your product being the first out of the gate.
There are many schemes for young people to learn basic business skills, such as Young Enterprise or The Working Knowledge Group, to help you gain perspective on the facets and pressures of running a business.
Try this: Determine what the “secret sauce” of your innovation will be. How will you secure a leading position after you have launched your product? Here's a great story that just landed in my inbox relating to a company that the Emerging Business Team has been engaged with for a while, and is one of the best examples of an IP Ventures deal: 30th October 2007 GP Bullhound, the research-centric technology investment bank, today announces the completion of a USD16 million financing round for Skinkers, the digital information broadcast leader. The funding comes from lead investor Acacia Capital Partners, NewMedia Spark and the Skinkers management team. It will be used to further develop their enterprise-wide communication platform business, enhance their Live Notification Platform™ technology and bring to market LiveStation, the world’s first interactive global broadcast network for live television and radio. Hitesh Mehta, General Partner at Acacia Capital Partners commented on the deal: “We are delighted to be part of the Skinkers story; we believe their innovative approach to the delivery of priority information gives them a unique position in the market. This financing will enable the experienced management team at Skinkers to exploit the market potential for the technology and build a world-class business.” Skinkers’ CEO, Matteo Berlucchi, commented on GP Bullhound’s role: “We worked with GP Bullhound back in 2003 for our seed round and have once again be delighted by the corporate finance advice they provided for our latest funding round. We believe their strong and personal relationships with the leading venture capital funds across Europe and the USA is unparalleled. Raising finance is never a simple affair and GP Bullhound has helped us navigate through this process with minimum fuss, enabling us to raise finance quickly and efficiently.” This fundraising represents the completion of GP Bullhound’s seventh private placement for the year, confirming its position as the #1 European Technology Private Placement house. I've just spent the day in Edinburgh at the 11th annual Connect Investment Conference, a fantastic event for technology startups and investors run by Connect Scotland. The structure of the event was great, with a technology showcase where a lot of companies were set up with stands were you could meet them, see their demos, pick up brochures, etc. Through the morning a total of ten companies each gave a ten-minute pitch in front of the assembled audience of about 120 people, and in the afternoon there was a series of speeches by various industry luminaries talking about their experiences in creating business success from technology innovation. In between the sessions there was plenty of time at breaks and at lunch for visiting the technology showcase and networking with the investors and innovation support organisations that were there. The companies were from a range of different technology areas including biotech and renewable energy (the offshore oil industry in Scotland has a lot of expertise in design and construction for the rough North Sea conditions, and some of that knowledge is now being recycled into wave and tidal power technologies) but there was a healthy number of software-based solutions, everything from compiler enhancements to mobile gaming. The thing that struck me overall was not just the high quality of the companies on show, but that most of them not only had some very interesting, high-quality IP and great entrepreneurial and business focus. A lot of these companies are looking for second round funding, so they are not very early stage. Even so, I was quite impressed. Some of the companies that I spoke to through the day were: Caspian Learning
Caspian provide development tools and execution engine for 3D interactive learning solutions, part of the "serious gaming" market. They showed a cool demo for training oil platform workers, taking them through the scenario of a helicopter crash and going through the fire and evacuation drills in a model of a real oil platform. Caspian's key feature is the ease by which these training environments can be built and modified. Codeplay Software Ltd
Anyone who has tried to write code for parallel execution knows that this is not trivial. Codeplay have a tool makes it (relatively) easy to take existing single-threaded C++ code and enable it to benefit from a level of parallel execution on multicore CPUs and other parallel processing architectures. Their primary market is software development for embedded systems and mobile devices. Factonomy Ltd
Building complex, interactive web sites in a fraction of the time it takes with traditional tools sounds like it could be useful, and apparently Declarative XML is the way to do it. I didn't have a lot of time to talk to these guys but they're doing an Office LiveMeeting demo for me on Friday and I'm quite interested in this since improving developer productivity is always a hot topic. Helixion Ltd
Helixion is taking advantage of the emergence of memory cards with built-in smartcard technology to deliver end-to-end security for mobile device applications. Like all people at Microsoft I have a security card that is also a smartcard which with my PIN gives me full VPN access to our corporate network from my laptop. The Helixion solution could enable the same level of security from a PDA or smartphone, and actually provides a third authentication factor by integrating with the SIM. KeyPoint Technologies (UK) Ltd
Have you ever been frustrated by typing text on your mobile? The answer is very likely yes, unless u r a gr8 txtr. The founder of Keypoint started thinking about how to simplify text input after his brother lost an arm in an accident and they worked together on designing a keyboard that would enable him to type more quickly and easily. The software product that eventually emerged from this work, Adaptxt, takes a major step forward from the T9 predictive input that most of us probably use on our mobiles today. Skyscanner.net
The guy from Skyscanner wasn't actually presenting but I chatted to him over a cup of tea and they have a very neat take on the online flight booking market. They basically aggregate data from about 150 airlines (including the web-only budget airlines) and enable some very interesting search scenarios, enabling you to more easily find the cheapest and most convenient flight. Sutherlands Edinburgh Ltd
Credit ratings agencies have found themselves in a middle of a bit of controversy recently in relation to the credit crunch that has been affecting the financial markets over the last couple of months. Sutherlands has been set up by a combination of finance sector veterans and top-notch mathematicians to take a new approach to credit rating. Essentially they use a variety of data sources and sophisticated algorithms to provide an on-line rating service which they say is both more timely and impartial than you get from other ratings agencies. Traak Systems Ltd
RFID is one of those technologies that has, for several years, been due to break through any moment now. Things haven't perhaps moved as quickly as initially expected, but gradually the key components are both coming down in price and going up in scalability and usability, and the potential range of applications is of course vast. Traak is focusing on the issue of how to handle the very large volumes of events that will be generated by some potential RFID applications, such as tracking the location of all the luggage in an airport. Using sophisticated algorithms for filtering and aggregating this data close to the point of collection, the Traak appliance reduces the load on the network and back-end systems. There were a number of companies that I didn't get a chance to talk to, including the mobile games developers Dot Red Games Ltd and Tag Games Ltd. I did speak to ITI Techmedia, who run an R&D programme funded by the Scottish Government, and currently support several developments relating to games development. The IP from this R&D will be licensed to commercial partners, and I'm looking forward to seeing what interesting companies come out of that initiative. Clearly games development is another area where there is a lot of innovation going on in Scotland! One of the questions I get asked most frequently by start-up software companies, and one that came up during The Online Opportunity event last week, goes something like this: "We would like to build a business around a solution we're developing using the Microsoft platform and tools, but we just don't have the cash to pay for the software licenses. What can you do to help?" Our answer is not, unsurprisingly, that you should use software that is available free of charge, and there are many reasons why we think it makes business sense to base a software business on a commercial software platform. Please note that I'm talking about a business decision here, not whether product X has feature Y, although such considerations are of course an important part of the business decision. If you're in a situation where you're putting your life's savings into creating a new product and company, and perhaps mortgaging your house, and persuading friends, family, and strangers to invest in your enterprise, then this is clearly a big decision. You will be (or at least should be) thinking very carefully about business model (license/advertising/subscription/...), pricing, revenue and cost projections, marketing and sales plans, when to hire additional staff, and all the other things that are part of starting a new business. Picking the right platform is just one of many important decisions, and the price of the development tools and deployment platform just one of many factors that you need to take into account. We believe very strongly that our software development platform and tools represent very good value compared to the alternatives when you look at the business results they deliver. An IDC study on ISV business performance provides some data to support this. I have to point out that Microsoft sponsored this study, and I suggest that you read it critically, but not only do I believe there is sound methodology and rigour in the work that IDC did, I also have plenty of personal experience to back this up. Over the last four years, when I ran the Microsoft Technology Centre, we had many developers from both enterprise customers and ISVs coming in to our labs for 2-3 week projects to build prototypes of new solutions. Although the MTC is ultimately about selling Microsoft software, we take a very consultative approach and really focus on what's best for our customers and partners, even if what we end up recommending is not always exactly what our sales people wanted to sell. The UK MTC does maybe 50-60 of those Proof of Concept projects every year, and in many cases the developers have not previously been using the Microsoft tools, but they came to the MTC because there was some compelling business reason why they should give it a try (e.g. they'd tried a different platform and it didn't work, their existing tool set was discontinued by the vendor, etc.). Almost without exception, the hundreds of developers that worked on projects in the MTC during those four years left saying that they had a strong preference for working with the Microsoft tools, and were prepared to stand up and say so in front of the executives from their companies, even if they had previously been negative towards using Microsoft technologies. It's worth pointing out that the systems prototyped in the MTC are not trivial. They include things like: But, I hear you say, all these companies have lots of money, and for them the cost of the Microsoft tools and platform products are a small part of the overall project costs. There may be some truth in that, but the point I'm making here is that they were able to realise great business results with the software they developed, and wouldn't it be neat if even a small start-up software company had access to all the tools and technologies required to build and deploy fantastic applications like this. Fortunately we have a solution, or in fact a number of solutions, because different companies have different requirements. There is a good list of links on this page, but I'll just summarise a few of the most important ones here: - Join the Empower programme for a nominal sum of money (currently £260 in the UK) and get all the Microsoft software licenses you need to get started with up to five developers. In return you commit to launch a commercial product using certain Microsoft platform components in a 12-24 month timeframe. Full details here. Please note that although the Program Requirements currently lists just ISV tests, we will in fact consider applications from developers that could work towards hosting certification.
- When it comes to deploying your software we have the ISV Royalty Programme and Service Provider Licensing Agreement, which provides simpler and more flexible ways of including the cost of the Microsoft software in the solutions you sell to your customers.
- For Software as a Service (or Software + Service) ISVs, there are a number of Microsoft SaaS Incubation Centre partners that will help you get up and running
- If you actually want to run the service on your own servers with your own software, you can spread the cost through Microsoft Financing, which offer loans starting from as little as £1,000 with payments over 24 to 60 months, and can cover not just the software but also hardware and services .
Perhaps the upfront costs are still a bit higher than a free download, but the difference is less than you would think by looking at the retail price of our products, and even the least ambitious of business plans should be able to accommodate the £260 required to get started, and with the benefits on offer and the business results it will enable you to deliver, that could be a very smart investment indeed. 
As of the 1st of October 2007 we are now offering the opportunity for high growth, well funded, innovative software or services companies in the UK to apply to be evaluated for the programme. To have your company evaluated complete the Emerging Business Team Profiler, use RSVP code “Accelerator”. Even if your company is not selected for the Microsoft Startup Accelerator Program, there is a huge amount that you can gain from partnering with Microsoft. We have one of the world’s most comprehensive partner programmes for software companies, service companies, hardware companies, systems integrators and value added resellers. We encourage you to learn more and take advantage of these programmes. You can start learning about these programmes now at http://www.microsoftstartupzone.com/suz_files/partner.aspx, our guide for entrepreneurs, software or service startups and their investors. We appreciate your interest in this new program. And we wish all startups the best of success in their ventures! The benefits received by the partners that are accepted into the Microsoft Startup Accelerator Program will be customised for each company, based on the needs of the partner and the size of the joint opportunity. Software Development resources may include: - Access to our premier support staff
- Software license and subscriptions
- Access to new technologies
- Access to Microsoft Technology Centre in Reading for software testing and architecture guidance
Business Development resources may include: - Presence on the Microsoft StartupZone website
- Introductions to appropriate marketing teams inside Microsoft
- Case Studies and evidence
- Presence at Microsoft events
- Introductions to investors as needed
Microsoft resources may include: - Introductions to internal product groups as appropriate
- Visibility in front of key executives
- Early stage product feedback to internal development teams
- Active collaboration on emerging trends and technology
UPDATE 4 Oct 2007 For those who weren't at the UK Microsoft Startup Accelerator Programme launch event (or fell asleep during my introduction and didn't wake up) on Monday the 1st of October, here is, in order of appearance both some pictures and videos. Ryan Carson 
Lars Lindstedt - Video 
Brent Hoberman - Video 
Steve Ballmer - Video (demo starts 15 minutes in) 
Marc Holmes 
Steve Ballmer Video - Q&A 
Panel Discussion - Saul Klein, Ben Way, Cary Marsh - Video 
Many thanks to Cary Marsh and the team at Mydeo for hosting the videos. This morning we had nearly 180 people turning up for an event at Microsoft's London office in Cardinal Place near Victoria Station. The title of the event was "The Online Opportunity" and the intention was to bring together some of the UK's brightest developers, entrepreneurs, and investors who are working in the Web 2.0 space. Having spent a fair amount of time over the last couple of months putting this event together it was great to see it all come together on the day (and a bit of a relief, to be honest). From our perspective, this was an opportunity to connect with people from both Microsoft partners and companies that don't currently use Microsoft technologies and have a dialogue about what's happening in the Web 2.0 world and what the opportunities are for partnering with Microsoft, so I was happy to see so many innovative companies represented. Not only did we have some fantastic people in the audience, we also had a very strong lineup on the stage. - Ryan Carson had kindly agreed to facilitate the day and kept us all on track and did it with the style and verve that he is renowned for, hat and all.
- When we put the agenda together I rather selfishly grabbed the opening slot to talk about the things that I'm thinking about in my new role. Having spent the last four years running the Microsoft Technology Centre, it was nice to get back up to present, and although I faced a slightly bleary-eyed Monday morning audience I think it went OK. I've posted a PDF of my slides here, but for an explanation of the slides you'll have to wait for the video of the presentation, which will be available here shortly.
- We then had Brent Hoberman, co-founder of lastminute.com and now working on a new venture, mydeco.com talking about what it takes (apart from luck) to be a successful web start-up. Unfortunately I had to leave the auditorium for Brent's session to meet up with Steve's speech writer to discuss some last-minute alterations to his deck so I'll have to watch the video before I can comment, but the people I spoke to during lunch found his talk very useful.
- After Brent, Steve Ballmer arrived on time, something that is always a little bit of a worry at an event like this, given how packed his schedule is on the kind of five-countries-in-five-days trip he's on at the moment. I guess I'm not the most unbiased observer, but every time I hear Steve speak I'm impressed at the breadth and depth of understanding he has of both the business and the technology. Not everyone will agree with everything he says, and I'm looking forward to hearing what the non-Microsoft bloggers in the audience thought. As part of Steve's presentation, Marc Holmes gave a very quick series of demos of Silverlight, Popfly, Seadragon, and Photosynth which went down very well. Marc has just the best presentation style and his quick-witted humour always gets a few laughs. Following the demo, Steve officially launched the Microsoft Startup Accelerator programme here in the UK, with five launch partners: Corebridge, Miomi, ViaPost, Zebtab, Miomni, something that I will blog about extensively in the future. Finally Steve fielded questions from the audience, and continued much longer than planned, which suggested he found it a worthwhile exercise.
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Steve making a point
Steve Ballmer with Ryan Carson's hat in the foreground | - When Steve and entourage departed for their next engagement (at London Business School) we had three people join Ryan on stage for a panel discussion and Q&A: Saul Klein of Seedcamp and Index Ventures; Ben Way of makingrain.com, Viapost and Miomi; and Cary Marsh of mydeo.com. Again there were lots of great insights and useful advice for the entrepreneurs in the audience.
At the end of all this it was lunchtime and there was a huge amount of buzz and networking as people tucked into the sandwiches and sushi. It'll probably take me a couple of days to follow up with all the new contacts that I made in just an hour! | View in Web Browser | /_layouts/images/ichtmxls.gif | /Blogs/united_kingdom/_layouts/xlviewer.aspx?listguid={ListId}&itemid={ItemId}&DefaultItemOpen=1 | 0x0 | 0x1 | FileType | xlsx | 255 | | View in Web Browser | /_layouts/images/ichtmxls.gif | /Blogs/united_kingdom/_layouts/xlviewer.aspx?listguid={ListId}&itemid={ItemId}&DefaultItemOpen=1 | 0x0 | 0x1 | FileType | xlsb | 255 | | Snapshot in Excel | /_layouts/images/ewr134.gif | /Blogs/united_kingdom/_layouts/xlviewer.aspx?listguid={ListId}&itemid={ItemId}&Snapshot=1 | 0x0 | 0x1 | FileType | xlsx | 256 | | Snapshot in Excel | /_layouts/images/ewr134.gif | /Blogs/united_kingdom/_layouts/xlviewer.aspx?listguid={ListId}&itemid={ItemId}&Snapshot=1 | 0x0 | 0x1 | FileType | xlsb | 256 |
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Featured Startup
The company of the day is ShowNearby.com, based in Singapore. The company's mission is simple: to show you what's nearby. You will find below an interview with Douglas Gan, Founder of ShowNearby.com. All the best to them and congrats for being the startup of the day!
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