Microsoft BizSpark In the News

Slates Available at Tech Crunch Disrupt, Free Phone Giveaway

Microsoft BizSpark — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 01:59:00 GMT

On September 10-12, TechCrunch Disrupt kicks off at the Concourse at San Francisco Design Center for another exciting conference filled with eager entrepreneurs, Venture Capitalists, esteemed panelists, and witty TechCrunch writers.

This blog post was written by Brett Laffel, Senior Audience Marketing Manager, Microsoft

While you are there, make sure to check out the HUGE! Microsoft booth that our team will be staffing throughout the entire course of the Hackathon over the weekend and for the entire length of the conference itself, from Monday to Wednesday. Don’t forget to drop your business card – you could win a brand new NOKIA LUMIA Windows Phone! We’ll be giving out three phones via raffle over the weekend, and one phone also chosen via raffle, at the conclusion of the conference.

And there’s more. Have you heard all about and read about Windows 8, but haven’t gotten the opportunity to interact with the new operating system in person? Now is your chance! We’ll have a number of slates available for anyone to try out and play around with. Have questions about how to develop for Windows 8? Or about what the actual market opportunity is? Or on the release timeframe or the tools and ample resources Microsoft has available to you? We’ll have our A-team of technical evangelists there to answer all of these questions and many more.

Last but not least.. We figure there will be a lot of startups at the event. In addition to a fully-staffed Windows 8 table, we’ll also have a fully-staffed Microsoft BizSpark table. Come to learn about Microsoft’s program - specifically tailored for startups - that currently has over 50,000 startups worldwide in the program. Outside of the software development tools that BizSpark members receive, there is also technical support and business training that our BizSpark startups have access to –we’ll have all this information available to you at our table! And, we promise you won’t be leaving our table without handy-dandy Microsoft BizSpark goods!

The conference itself also looks wonderful. I’d highly recommend watching Startup Battlefield – where 30 new companies launch on stage in front of everyone. An expert panel of judges critiques each startup, and the winner receives $50,000, in addition to great press and exposure. I’d also recommend seeing the panel with Ben Horowitz of Andreessen Horowitz (huge fan of, and frequent blogger on rap music!) and Cory Booker, an avid Twitter user, and also the well-known visionary mayor from Newark.

Questions? Suggestions for me? Want to meet up? I’ll be there the entire time. Feel free to reach out. Brett.Laffel@microsoft.com or @BrettLaffel on Twitter.

Bing Search API now available on Windows Azure Marketplace

Microsoft BizSpark — Thu, 17 May 2012 16:57:45 GMT

The Bing Search API is now available on the Windows Azure Marketplace. Starting today, you can sign up in the Marketplace to access web, image, news, and video search results, as well as related searches and spelling suggestions using JSON or XML. Read more

Microsoft and Nokia launch £15 million AppCampus

Microsoft BizSpark — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 16:10:00 GMT

Microsoft and Nokia have teamed up to create a new mobile app developers' program at Aalto University in Finland.

Ludovic Ulrich on Microsoft’s BizSpark Plus Program for India

Microsoft BizSpark — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 21:54:02 GMT

Ludovic Ulrich from Microsoft’s BizSpark team outlines how startups in India can enter the BizSpark program.

To Boost Windows Azure, Microsoft Launches Company’s First-Ever Direct Startup Accelerator

Microsoft BizSpark — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 18:47:13 GMT

Microsoft is launching the first startup accelerator in the company’s history in an effort to encourage more entrepreneurs to build their cloud-based applications using Windows Azure.

Microsoft launches first accelerator ever, but will give free Azure access instead of cash

Microsoft BizSpark — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 18:43:05 GMT

Microsoft has launched its first-ever startup accelerator at its Israel R&D Center, with an expressed purpose of helping young cloud-focused companies.

Microsoft launches Windows Azure Accelerator in Israel

Microsoft BizSpark — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 18:40:00 GMT

The accelerator, which will rely heavily upon Microsoft's Azure cloud service, will be a four-month program designed for early stage startups doing big things in cloud, Web, and mobile.

This spring brings the perfect investment climate for new businesses

Microsoft BizSpark — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 18:35:00 GMT

The entrepreneurial scene in the UK, particularly in London, is waking up and beginning to blossom.

Microsoft announced BizSpark Plus program in Israel

Microsoft BizSpark — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 19:53:24 GMT

500 Israeli start ups joined the BizSpark cloud computing program.

Microsoft's Claire Lee among top women in tech

Microsoft BizSpark — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 19:32:48 GMT

It's International Women's Day and Siliconrepublic.com is tipping its hat to eight of the world's top women in technology.

Microsoft BizSpark's Queen of Startups Banks on a Global Edge

Microsoft BizSpark — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 19:11:57 GMT

The VC/Emerging Business Lead Bindi Karia calls herself a “child of the world” and her unusual background has certainly played a role in her success. Read more

Microsoft launches BizSpark Plus for investors and startups in Singapore

Microsoft BizSpark — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 17:15:07 GMT

Microsoft announced on 1st March the launch of BizSpark Plus, a program for business investors and startups in Singapore. Read more

Right network, partners key to startup survival in China

Microsoft BizSpark — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 17:09:00 GMT

The tech startup environment in China is far more difficult than Silicon Valley, and if foreign entrepreneurs want any shot at success, having the right partners and network connections will be necessary. Read more

Microsoft Wooing Startups to Its Platforms With Free Software, Business Advice

Microsoft BizSpark — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 17:06:42 GMT

At the DEMO Asia conference for startups in Singapore, Microsoft sponsored booths for a group of young Asian firms. The entrepreneurs at the event said the program was the main reason they now build on Microsoft products. Read more

Kiwi startup impresses at Demo conference

Microsoft BizSpark — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 17:03:23 GMT

Kiwi founder Alexei Dunayev announced he would be offering transcripts of every other pitch at the conference, for free, via his company’s forthcoming mobile app. Read more

Technology For Generation Next: Teens in Tech Labs

Microsoft BizSpark — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 19:40:35 GMT

Why Microsoft is backing a technology incubator for teens, an idea that Daniel Brusilovsky came up with at 15 years old. Read more

6 Start-up Tips From the World’s Biggest Tech Companies

Microsoft BizSpark — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 19:13:00 GMT

Check out these tips for startups from the world’s biggest tech companies including Microsoft’s Matt Thompson.

PhotoHack Day 2

Microsoft BizSpark — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 23:43:00 GMT

Calling on Windows Phone developers to join the PhotoHack Day 2 Feb 25-26 !

On February 25 and 26, Microsoft and Nokia are sponsoring Photo Hack Day 2 with our partners at Aviary and General Assembly. The original Photo Hack Day was the first image-centric hackathon that brought together the brightest minds in photography, photo-editing, web design, computer science, and more. In 24 hours, over 200 developers put together an impressive 43 hacks with APIs contributed from 25 companies -- a full day display of burgeoning talent in the New York City tech community.

Nokia and Microsoft will have plenty of prizes including sexy Lumia 800s, and an Xbox Kinect console for the best Windows Phone apps. We will also have user experience and development guidance from Nokia and Microsoft onsite.

If you’re already working on a photo app, have an idea for one, or are a Windows Phone developer looking for an interesting photo app idea then register for free soon! The pre-work set up instructions for WP developers are here.

What: weekend long Photohack organized by Aviary and sponsored by Nokia

When & Where: Feb. 25-26, 2012 @ General Assembly

Sign-Up Here: Registration

Follow on Twitter at @photohacknyc

How one dev used 90% of his Windows Phone code to port a game to Windows 8

Microsoft BizSpark — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 18:45:28 GMT

Rick Walrond, developer of the Windows Phone word game AlphaDrops, reports that he was able to use 90 percent of his original code when porting the game over to Windows 8. Read more

Grooveshark’s Mobile Web Streaming Works on Windows Phone 7

Microsoft BizSpark — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 17:26:30 GMT

Microsoft’s Ben Riga (Windows Phone) and Eric Lawrence (Internet Explorer) worked with Grooveshark to help get the site working on Windows Phones. Read more

Encouraging disruptive innovation

Microsoft BizSpark — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:58:05 GMT

In an age of disruptive technology, the adoption of new products and technologies allows smaller companies to challenge current leading companies or existing business models. Read more

Why Windows 8 tablets could be a bonanza for start-ups

Microsoft BizSpark — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:22:49 GMT

With a single Windows Metro app, startups will be able to target hundreds of millions of Windows machines of all form factors. Read more

Microsoft SQL Server Special Ops Tour

Microsoft BizSpark — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:56:00 GMT

The time to activate is now. Microsoft SQL Server 2012 is launching soon. Join the 12-city road tour where Microsoft experts and local DBAs will show you the power of SQL Server 2012. At the Tour stop in your city, you will:

Dive deep into the tools, solutions and options that will enable mission critical confidence at a low TCO
Discover breakthrough insight with pervasive data discovery
Learn options to create & scale your current business solutions by managing the cloud on your terms
Preview RC0 with tips and tricks to help you succeed, & build your learning plan for certification

Startups To Get Greater Access To Windows Azure With BizSpark Plus

Microsoft BizSpark — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:28:38 GMT

The Microsoft BizSpark initiative was launched to foster web startups that use cloud resources to deploy their services. Read more

TechStars offers free cloud services via Microsoft’s BizSpark Plus

Microsoft BizSpark — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:25:10 GMT

Microsoft unveiled its new BizSpark Plus program, designed to assist select accelerators and incubators, and TechStars announced the first benefit-related news to come out of it.