5 ms·

It's probably a good thing that Microsoft did not follow the advice: > They can't hire smart people anymore, but they could buy as many as they wanted. > Buy

It's probably a good thing that Microsoft did not follow the advice: > They can't hire smart people anymore, but they could buy as many as they wanted. > Buy all the good "Web 2.0" startups. They could get substantially all of them for less than they'd have to pay for Facebook. > Put them all in a building in Silicon Valley, surrounded by lead shielding to protect them from any contact with Redmond. Instead, Microsoft did the exact opposite. They picked Satya Nadella who had worked there since 1992. He has driven the innovation right out of Redmond, WA with no lead shielding required.

lainga 8y ago
It sounded like Paul wanted them to become a second Oracle.
- ultrasounder 8y ago
  And look where ORCL is in relation to M$FT.
TaylorAlexander 8y ago
This highlights the magical thinking we can suffer from in Silicon Valley where we believe we’re inherently better at solving problems here. It sounds like what Paul was saying is good ideas can no longer come from Redmond and the best they can do is buy a chunk of Silicon Valley and hope to ride on whatever success that nets them.
- WisNorCan 8y ago
  Agree. Two of three largest companies in the world are now in the Seattle area with both Microsoft (#1) and Amazon (#3) thriving. Apple (#2), Google (#4) and Facebook (#5) are in the Bay Area.
  - xyzzy_plugh 8y ago
    I don't know about Apple but Facebook and Google have pretty big offices in Seattle as well, along with many other startups (Uber, Airbnb, Stripe, etc.) It seems the play these days is to have the best of both worlds.
    - sincerely 8y ago
      Companies at that level generally have offices in big cities all over the world. In Toronto we have Airbnb, Uber, Google, etc offices for example. I think the important thing in this context is where the HQ is.
    - nostrademons 8y ago
      And Microsoft and Amazon both have big offices in Silicon Valley. Bing is (was? it looks like the site is now under reconstruction) based out of their Mountain View complex that's almost literally across the street from the Googleplex, while A9 (Amazon's search subsidiary) has a big office in Palo Alto.
kirillzubovsky 8y ago
This is almost entirely not true. Under Satya, Microsoft went on a shopping spree. They bought a ton of startups: Minecraft, Github, Skype, Sunrise, LinkedIn (tnx comments!), Yammer ... and along with those it bought a mapping company, a multitude of ad/marketing companies, educational startups, AI startups...etc, etc. Those are just the ones we know about. Update: here's a list of all MS acquisitions. It's rather lengthly. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mergers_and_acquisitions_by_Microsoft https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mergers_and_acquisitio... Did you know they almost bought Twitch.tv, but Amazon had more money? And as far as locking them in the same building, that's not exactly operationally efficient in 2018. But they seemed to have done their best at either merging the products right away, or letting the team run on their own. So, they did pretty well, according to the plan.
- samcgraw 8y ago
  Not to mention LinkedIn :)
- downer60 8y ago
  Microsoft acquired Skype in 2011, before the 2014 Ballmer/Nadella change-over. Also, Minecraft isn't exactly a start-up, but more of a celebrity among gaming projects, ranking closer to an endorsement/sponsorship deal.
- WisNorCan 8y ago
  Hmm... 1) Skype was purchased by Ballmer. 2) Most of the ad tech companies were also purchased by Ballmer. 3) Minecraft and Skype are not Bay Area companies 4) LinkedIn was a public company when Microsoft acquired them. So it seems like a stretch to call them a startup. 5) And finally it looks like Microsoft has done acquisitions throughout their existence. In fact, they acquired as many companies in 2007 as they did in 2018 and more in 2007 than 2017. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mergers_and_acquisitions_by_Microsoft https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mergers_and_acquisitio... It doesn't seem like "buy lots of Bay Area Web 2.0 companies to infuse new talent" is the secret ingredient. Yahoo was the company that probably closest executed the strategy. That didn't go well as we all know.

lainga 8y ago

It sounded like Paul wanted them to become a second Oracle.

ultrasounder 8y ago
And look where ORCL is in relation to M$FT.

TaylorAlexander 8y ago

This highlights the magical thinking we can suffer from in Silicon Valley where we believe we’re inherently better at solving problems here. It sounds like what Paul was saying is good ideas can no longer come from Redmond and the best they can do is buy a chunk of Silicon Valley and hope to ride on whatever success that nets them.

WisNorCan 8y ago
Agree. Two of three largest companies in the world are now in the Seattle area with both Microsoft (#1) and Amazon (#3) thriving. Apple (#2), Google (#4) and Facebook (#5) are in the Bay Area.
- xyzzy_plugh 8y ago
  I don't know about Apple but Facebook and Google have pretty big offices in Seattle as well, along with many other startups (Uber, Airbnb, Stripe, etc.) It seems the play these days is to have the best of both worlds.
  - sincerely 8y ago
    Companies at that level generally have offices in big cities all over the world. In Toronto we have Airbnb, Uber, Google, etc offices for example. I think the important thing in this context is where the HQ is.
  - nostrademons 8y ago
    And Microsoft and Amazon both have big offices in Silicon Valley. Bing is (was? it looks like the site is now under reconstruction) based out of their Mountain View complex that's almost literally across the street from the Googleplex, while A9 (Amazon's search subsidiary) has a big office in Palo Alto.

kirillzubovsky 8y ago

This is almost entirely not true. Under Satya, Microsoft went on a shopping spree. They bought a ton of startups: Minecraft, Github, Skype, Sunrise, LinkedIn (tnx comments!), Yammer ... and along with those it bought a mapping company, a multitude of ad/marketing companies, educational startups, AI startups...etc, etc. Those are just the ones we know about. Update: here's a list of all MS acquisitions. It's rather lengthly. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mergers_and_acquisitions_by_Microsoft https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mergers_and_acquisitio... Did you know they almost bought Twitch.tv, but Amazon had more money? And as far as locking them in the same building, that's not exactly operationally efficient in 2018. But they seemed to have done their best at either merging the products right away, or letting the team run on their own. So, they did pretty well, according to the plan.

samcgraw 8y ago
Not to mention LinkedIn :)
downer60 8y ago
Microsoft acquired Skype in 2011, before the 2014 Ballmer/Nadella change-over. Also, Minecraft isn't exactly a start-up, but more of a celebrity among gaming projects, ranking closer to an endorsement/sponsorship deal.
WisNorCan 8y ago
Hmm... 1) Skype was purchased by Ballmer. 2) Most of the ad tech companies were also purchased by Ballmer. 3) Minecraft and Skype are not Bay Area companies 4) LinkedIn was a public company when Microsoft acquired them. So it seems like a stretch to call them a startup. 5) And finally it looks like Microsoft has done acquisitions throughout their existence. In fact, they acquired as many companies in 2007 as they did in 2018 and more in 2007 than 2017. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mergers_and_acquisitions_by_Microsoft https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mergers_and_acquisitio... It doesn't seem like "buy lots of Bay Area Web 2.0 companies to infuse new talent" is the secret ingredient. Yahoo was the company that probably closest executed the strategy. That didn't go well as we all know.