For start-ups, BizSpark and Microsoft StartupZone enable entrepreneurs to access the development tools, advice and exposure they need at a time when they are most valuable and least affordable—during their first three years. But BizSpark isn’t just a program to make software available. Of course, it does that, but it’s really a partnership with the entrepreneur community. Almost 2,000 organizations worldwide – banks, government agencies, incubators, hosters, lawyers, universities – are the folks who enroll their startups in BizSpark. You can find profiles of just a few of those BizSpark Network Partners here, under the “featured Partners” tab.
We chose to work with such a wide range of organizations simply because they work with startups directly, and they represent the complex elements of each local software economy. In many cases we already have working relationships with those organizations, so why not strengthen them? Where we didn’t already have a relationship, this is a way to build one.
Now we are starting to see those organizations develop new relationships with each other: Hosters are offering discounted hosting services to young companies; lawyers are offering free or reduced cost legal services; accounting forms offering financial training; banks offering loans.
This feedback is guiding our plans for how we’ll build on BizSpark over time. For example, in Europe, we’ll be integrating BizSpark with EUGA – the European Union Grants Advisor – which helps startups get EU grants in 27 European countries. Grants are ‘seed capital’ for early stage businesses – and by connecting Europe’s startups with EUGA, we can help them get that capital when they need it most.
Initiatives like this also strengthen the larger community:
• Seed capital accelerates the success of the start-ups they bet on and mitigates risk for follow on investors
• It delivers national and EU funds directly to the people who need them
• It complements the early-stage support that incubators provide small companies
We’ll keep BizSpark’s offers up-to-date of course, with new releases, as well as brand new technologies like Azure, but we’ll continue to expand our support and partnership with the entrepreneur community, globally and locally.