4 ms·

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 represen

by jf 14y ago

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.)

latch 14y ago
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?
- jf 14y ago
  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?

by jf 14y ago

latch 14y ago

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?

jf 14y ago
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?