Network Partner

“We think the BizSpark program is a good thing, and we’ve put it on our Web site, in our emails, and newsletters ...we’re really putting some emphasis on the program, and how we can leverage it more.”

— TERESA SPANGLER, MANAGING PARTNER, PLAZABRIDGE

“Our goal is to help you [Startups] think through the best sustainable strategy, put the foundation in place with you, start building momentum in the market, and help you execute that strategy.”

— TERESA SPANGLER, MANAGING PARTNER, PLAZABRIDGE

“Yes, I think the platform is a 10. I think you did a good job with that…. For Startups, the BizSpark program is an eight or nine for them … and it’s a great marketing tool for us.”

— TERESA SPANGLER, MANAGING PARTNER, PLAZABRIDGE

Q. Our understanding is that you came from Red Hat at one time, right?

“I worked at Red Hat. I was actually part of the IPO executive team responsible for revenue. So, when they had very little revenue from the sales of software, I took them to revenue, helped with business models, and built the enterprise entrance strategy and much more. It's no different than companies coming into the Microsoft Startup Zone. It’s great to have a great idea. Red Hat was a little different because the community was the mechanism that allowed this platform to build momentum that contributed to the growth for them. It's easy for me stepping in saying, these developers are potential customers, and finding ways to revenue, and to build a business model around this real passion around developing the whole Linux platform. The hard part was making Linux a legitimate platform in those days for the entire enterprise, not just the developer’s playground platform.

“But, you know, having an idea does not always mean that it's going to sell. There’s a big gap between idea to starting a company, to taking it to market, and as I said the majority of what we see is, especially in the technology side, that you develop something and you get it to a point where you think it's ready to go, and then it becomes an uh-oh now what do I do? How do I take this to market? How do I get customers? I've got this great thing I spent four years developing, now what?”

Q. So your focus is to help entrepreneurs take that next step from a bright idea to something that's executable, has value in the marketplace, and actually can run in the marketplace?

“Right, and sometimes we're actually even better at the idea stage, if the team is not quite jelled with the future strategy for an idea, and how a business model would evolve around it. We can expedite that process and validate it in the market and come back and build the requirements in so you're not having to come back once it is in the market and find out that you need more things, or different things, that would have made it easier to sell.”

Q. Do you primarily focus on business strategy, or technology strategy, too?

“I would say we are not technology strategy from an architectural standpoint. However, one of our core competencies is taking raw technology and making it marketable. I used to work with an international development firm, and the VC community placed me in the company. The VC wanted me to look at all the ‘stuff this company had.’ And the first day I sat down with the founder, he wanted to show me his ‘wall of technology,’ and we looked at the wall of technology and it was just ‘stuff.’ But, by the end of a five-hour discussion of all the stuff they had, I came up with real, viable business, because I was able to assimilate all of this stuff and say, wow, if we could do this you've got something. And they could do that.”

Q. What’s your geographic focus?

“We’re based in North Carolina but have done work all over the world. I'm the president of the World Trade Association, and actually anything that we do internationally helps facilitate business development. We multitask a lot, and are always cultivating relationships because when we get a good idea, something that might be really viable in the marketplace, our goal is to expedite potential licensing opportunities, or get it to revenue, find a partner, and bring it to market faster.”

Q. Sounds like your network is incredible, and your history of business experience — you’ve been within a startup yourself, you've dealt with the challenges of going to profitability, and you manage and maintain a network that's wide geographically. And then basically, as a result, you use that surface area to take companies to the next level. So when did you first hear about the Microsoft BizSpark program?

“I'm on the board of the Council for Entrepreneurial Development, and I believe that I heard about BizSpark for the first time from them, they asked me if I thought it was an important program for them, and they are also a partner. And the answer was certainly, yes, get on board, anywhere that entrepreneurs are I felt like this was a great opportunity.“

Q. So, how did you get recruited into the program? How did you get involved as a Network Partner?

“I had been emailing Cliff Reeves about PlazaBridge and wanting to see if Microsoft might sponsor a program that we were launching, the Ideas to Action program, before the market dynamics changed so drastically. We were in the planning stages of traveling to areas around the globe to deliver daylong intensive programs to help more entrepreneurs. And during that planning process, Cliff told me all about the BizSpark program. It was very, very timely. This was all happening when our economy was faltering, and people were starting to lose a little bit of hope. And I think both of our actions and our programmatic method, giving some bit of hope and support to keep things moving, were in both of our interests. So, I think programmatically it just aligned very nicely with what our hope was, as well.”

Q. We’ve noticed you work with a really nice set of companies — any in particular that jump out at you, where the BizSpark program has been particularly helpful?

“Yes, there’s a couple. It was just coming to light how bad the auto industry was, the financial industry was already a bust, but with the auto industry everyone was just saying they thought it ought to fall to the ground — because it will leave room for people to come to the table with new ideas and something better will come out of it. And about that time a couple of experienced developers shot me an email wanting to know if they could be a part of the BizSpark program, and oh my god, they had the most incredible car design we had ever seen. The company is called XP Vehicles — based in San Francisco.

“Their mission is to become the leading provider of the safest, longest range, lowest cost, most durable electric vehicles in the world. They have a pressure-membrane XPanelB technology that reduces manufacturing costs and time and increases safety by magnitudes over any competing car company. They are reinventing the idea of how you manufacture a car, and what the car is made of. It’s time for this next wave or next generation of products. This team is re-inventing how an industry might work. The products are promoting responsible consumerism and greater safety while lowering the cost of manufacturing and decreasing the time to market. What about that is their “NOT TO LIKE.” It's about reducing the carbon footprint, it's about being smarter with the things that we buy, about spending our money more wisely. And I just thought it was such perfect timing, and it shows again, it shows the value of why this program is SO important. We want to help companies like this get their fighting chance to market and help them thrive getting there.“

Q. Talk to us about the quality of the companies you’re getting, and if there are any others we can highlight?

“I've been very pleased with the quality. We’ve gotten a couple in the healthcare area and in the security realm as well.”

Q. What do you do to find Startups and get them introduced to BizSpark? Do you use the program as part of your normal day-to-day conversation with them, or do you use it as a recruiting tool, or do you contact the ones you've got?

“It's actually been less proactive. It's more of a tool of we're doing this, we think it's a good thing, and we've put it on our Web site, in our e-mails and newsletters. We initially did do a release on it. And we got quite a bit of response, and I can tell when you guys do an e-mail blast, and people are looking for BizSpark partners, because we get up to four or five referrals in a day. So, it's definitely working. The last couple of weeks we've actually been talking about using it in a much more strategic way. Honestly, October to March everybody was holding their breath and focusing on their business. The last four or five weeks we've seen an enormous opening of business, people spending a little bit more money, thinking a little more thoughtfully about the future, finally.

“So, we're now saying, okay, strategically what other things should we be promoting. And what can we go back out with. And we're really putting some emphasis on the BizSpark program, and how we can leverage it more.”

Q. Is there anything we can do to help you do that?

“You know you might be able to help us think about the ways to leverage it. There's the challenge of resources, and when we get lots of calls, most of these folks are not looking for support, they're just looking for tools. So, it's not a very hard program to manage. I don't really know what to go back and help the development team with, or what other services they might need. So, I don't know if there's research or a survey you could send out to everyone to say, what else would you like the BizSpark partners to be doing for you?”

Q. We can absolutely help you there. We've done a lot of talking to Network Partners, and we have some ideas ourselves. We're already doing a few things, but absolutely.

“Yes, that would be great. One thing that we do that might be very supportive. We have something called DealDesk. DealDesk is for anyone who wants objective feedback on their presentation, strategy, ideas or business plan in an effort to improve their chances of success. It’s about a one-hour presentation, which can be done over WebEx. The Startups present for about 20-minutes — we then give them incredibly constructive feedback about the business model, capital needs, competitive differentiation, partners, and customers, etc. We’ve already had about 160 of these sessions — and that's 160 different entrepreneurial companies, so it’s been very valuable.

“So we’re thinking about a way to leverage the companies that are in our partnership program, how do we get more in there, and then what would be supportive from us to them, not just Microsoft to them. And I don't think we've filled that gap yet.”

Q. We’ve definitely got some ideas that we could help you with. There's a tremendous thirst for direction setting.

“Yes, and we're great at that. We'll tell you what to do in a minute, but in all seriousness, between idea and customer, typically we see there are great gaps and no clear direction, ‘productization’ and even business model. We can help with that. One example I can give, one of our Startup clients received $1.3 million in funding, I was introduced to them after they’d burned through nearly half of the funding and were at edge with the board and not meeting any of the milestones projected in their business plan. A board member asked me to step in and see what we could do. Among the quick corrections and improvements we were able to help with was re-engineering the business model and creating the best routes to market for that model then organizing their current staff and hiring where there were talent gaps to execute on the plan. In other words, you will get lots and lots of ideas and feedback from VCs, lawyers and many others that really want to help you. Our goal is to help you think through the best sustainable strategy, put the foundation in place with you, start building momentum in the market, and help you execute that strategy.”

Q. Are there any things about the program you’d like us to change, anything you'd like us to do differently?

“I think to help us find out where the opportunities are more to help the companies, and certainly we're going to do a better job of actively promoting it more. I do talk about it, and just in the last month, I started sharing the program with our current clients, some of whom are already using Microsoft BizSpark. We have consulting engagements, quite a few of them. And when I'm in, the ones that actually meet the criteria of the program, we make sure that we offer them a partnership or a membership. And I've been interested that two of them were already a part of the BizSpark program. So it's definitely getting out there.”

Q. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest, how would you rate the program?

“I think from a programmatic standpoint for the companies coming in to us that want to be a member of BizSpark, I think it's probably an eight or a nine for them. I think for us as a partner it's probably a seven because I don't know how to benefit from it yet. But it's a great marketing tool for us. So, I mean, that's a huge benefit.”