
Microsoft Officially Launches Its New Angel Fund And Incubator Program - aaronbrethorst
http://techcrunch.com/2012/07/12/bing-fund-microsoft-launches-its-own-angel-fund-and-incubator-program/
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jf
The title to this post isn't exactly correct. From what I can tell, this is a
program being run by one division of Microsoft (Bing) and not necessarily
representative of Microsoft, the company.

(During the 90's people called Microsoft "the Borg", which does a disservice
to how to company actually operates. Microsoft is actually more like the
Ferengi, which is to say, an alliance of individuals obsessed with profit and
trade who are known for their business acumen.)

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latch
I don't understand this. Would you say that Word isn't a product of Microsoft
because it's really just run by Business division?

Aren't most programs/projects owned by 1 division? What _is_ representative of
Microsoft when everything falls under one division or another? Statements by
the board?

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jf
This is a great question. Perhaps what I should have said is that this program
doesn't appear to have buy-in from other divisions inside of Microsoft.

This is evident from statements from the "About" page like this one: Q:
"Should my startup apply to Bing Fund, Microsoft Accelerator for Windows
Azure, and BizSpark? Can we apply to all of them?" A: "Any of these programs
could be appropriate for your startup, depending on your stage of development
and the kind of resources and support you need."

If the Bing accelerator was aligned with, or had buy-in from, other divisions
inside of Microsoft, this statement wouldn't be necessary.

This is different from BizSpark (for example), which is administered mostly
out of the "Server and Tools" division, but has buy-in from every other
division inside of Microsoft.

So what this means is, if your startup is doing something that aligns very
well with the goals of the Bing division, then you should apply to the Bing
Fund. If your startup is doing something that aligns best with the goals of
another divisions, then, who knows?

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Zenst
To me it does seem more like a very cunning way to market there own products.
Why dish out X amount on marketing when you can borg a startup into using your
products.

Still it's an avenue that to many is a faustian deal, but it is still a option
that many others will apprecieate - even if it does seem a way to promote bing
and azure.

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barista
Calling it cunning is representative of the distrust HN tends to put on
anything Microsoft. If this was anything that Google did, it will be lauded
for promoting startup culture and helping the hacker community.

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Zenst
Nope my opinion and nothing to do with any implied cultrural trends. If it was
Google and it was called the googlesearchfund and offered support for google
services as in if you do a product that promotes there products then I'd
question that as well.

Still +1 to you for raising a fair point, even if i disagree.

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prayag
> _While we can’t make any guarantees, acquisition is always a possibility._

I am not sure why this was made explicit? People shouldn't join their fund to
get acquired by MS, they should aspire to build a long-standing business.

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barista
Getting acquired is one of many exit strategies and a very viable one. For
someone who just has a small idea for a niche product/feature, getting
acquired might be a better approach.

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vyrotek
I thought this was interesting. Apparently you don't need to move to the
Seattle area.

<https://www.bingfund.com/About>

 _What if my company is not located in the Seattle area?

While we will be able to give more hands-on assistance to startups that are
nearby, as long as your company is incorporated in the United States, you will
get the same benefits, with the exception of co-workspace._

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antsam
The "Pitch" page asks for a US address though :(

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pippy

        Microsoft [...] promises that the IP and product will remain in the hands of the participating companies.
    

No thanks.

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chollida1
Can you elaborate as to why you think this would be a bad thing?

Shouldn't the companies be allowed to keep their own IP and product?

