Microsoft has been lighting startups for three years!

In November, Microsoft celebrated its three-year-old flagship startup program , Microsoft BizSpark . The program, thanks to which 45,000 startups around the world, including 2500 in our country, got absolutely free access to all Microsoft software available in Russia.

As the head of BizSpark in Russia, I often communicate with program participants and hear words of gratitude and positive reviews about BizSpark. We are thanked for the fact that the program allows you to save tens of thousands of dollars, concentrate on development and not think about licenses, for prompt technical support, for recommendations, useful knowledge and connections ....

I can sincerely say that BizSpark is one of the best Microsoft programs, it is a program that I recommend to friends.

Taking the opportunity of this publication, I want to tell you about the advantages of BizSpark, how to register in the program and get the most out of it. And also to note the successful participants in the program who have achieved significant results in a short period of time.

Benefits of BizSpark

So, Microsoft BizSpark members get absolutely free Microsoft licensed software for the design, development, testing of products and placement of services on the Internet, as well as support from Microsoft and authorized partners in the BizSpark community.

• For three years, each participant is provided with :
• All development tools, server and client Microsoft software provided as part of the maximum Visual Studio Ultimate developer package with an MSDN subscription (Visual Studio Team Suite, Team Foundation Server, Expression Studio, Windows Server, SQL Server, Office, Dynamics, etc.) - for design, development and testing of software products (for each startup developer).
• Licenses for Microsoft server products (Windows Server, SQL Server, Office SharePoint Portal Server, System Center, BizTalk Server, Dynamics CRM) - for hosting services on the Internet (without limiting the number of users).
• After three years, "graduates" will be able to save almost all the software obtained through the BizSpark program and purchase a subscription to update Microsoft software on special preferential terms.
• In addition to free software, BizSpark members receive Microsoft technical support and access to MSDN resources .
• They also become participants in the BizSpark Connect international catalog , which can be useful for finding an investor or partner.
• In addition, BizSpark members can take advantage of special offers of authorized partners in the BizSpark community , such as: investments, hosting on special conditions; discounts on technical and business training, e-bookkeeping and payment system and much more. BizSpark has more than 2,000 startup partners worldwide and several dozen in Russia. You can find the Russian partner you need using the catalog on the Microsoft Startup Portal.

Becoming a member is easy!

Conditions for participation:
- A novice entrepreneur or start-up company should develop a replicable software product or service based on software. This product or service should be a key component of your own business.
- The company should be private, be in business for no more than three years and have an annual income of not more than 500 thousand US dollars (the figure of income is given for Russia). Individuals who are only in the process of registering a legal entity or have not even started this process can also participate in the program.

Registration and participation in the program are free!

In order to become a member, you need to get a link to register with a BizSpark community partner or Microsoft and register. More information about the program and other resources that may be useful to you at the beginning of a business journey - on the Microsoft Portal for Startups ( www.ms-start.ru ).

Successful Program Participants

Many of BizSpark exhibitors have achieved excellent results. Among them are such Russian startups as:

• ClickBerry (interactive video technology)
• PayOnline (payment system)
• News360 (personalized news reader)
• Diary.ru (online educational environment and social network )
• Sravni.ru (information and analytical online portal)
• Marva (professional online consultation system)
• Acumatica (cloud-based enterprise resource management (ERP) and accounting systems)
• My Business (online accounting)
• and many others

On our portal, in the special section “Successful Startups,” I prepared a selection with success stories of these companies (videos and publications).

Most of these companies can be considered graduates of the BizSpark program, because they have moved to the next "step" - individual support programs for Microsoft BizSpark One and Microsoft Startup Accelerator startups .

Individual Startup Support Programs

Microsoft BizSpark One is an international in-depth support program for startups with serious accomplishments and intentions. Selected participants get the opportunity to interact individually with Microsoft, including a single “entry point” and a collaboration plan tailored to the unique needs of a particular startup. This may include collaborative marketing, business training / consulting, mentoring, technology, investment assistance, PR, and more. At present, four companies with Russian roots are participating in the program, and their business is actively developing.

So, AcumaticaHaving created a cloud-based ERP system and a platform for developing business applications based on Windows Azure, in a year it expanded its partner channel to more than 100 integrators / resellers and attracted a new round of investments from Kohlberg Kravis & Roberts, the most famous fund in the USA. ClickBerry, having developed a cloud-based platform for creating and posting interactive (clickable) video, entered the US market by entering into partnership agreements with major players in the video advertising market. The News360 news application, which also runs on Windows Azure, has been featured on all six supported platforms, with more than one million installations. Young startup FittingReality got the opportunity to present a prototype of its solution using the Microsoft Kinect sensor, More than 100 leading international venture capital funds at Microsoft VC Summit, held in California in October 2011. Now the company with the support of Microsoft is actively developing a commercial version of the product.



The second program - Microsoft Startup Accelerator - aims to identify a small number of young companies with high potential in Microsoft BizSpark among more than 2500 Russian startups participating in order to accelerate the growth of their business and increase the likelihood of their participation in BizSpark One. The Russian representative office of Microsoft works with these companies individually by providing access to technical, marketing and business resources. Over the past year, more than 300 companies have passed the initial screening, more than 70 have undergone in-depth examination, 25 are nominated for participation in the in-person meetings of the selection committee, nine are selected as participants. Two of these companies joined BizSpark One.

If your startup has a business model confirmed by the market, you are creating a product forming a new market, or expect to take a significant share of the existing market and are interested in Microsoft technologies and partnerships with Microsoft, please send information about the company to rusaccel @ microsoft. com .

Money for startups

Few know that besides free software, BizSpark participants also have the opportunity to receive money - grants from the Microsoft Seed Fund. Eight Russian start-up companies have already received support for a total of 525 thousand US dollars during the year the fund has been operating:

• ePythia (geoplanner)
• SPEEREO (speech management system)
• Wobot (Social Media Search Engine)
• ColorPen (distance learning service)
• PiratePay (anti-piracy solution on the Internet)
• Ajatix (extension modules for web development tools)
• BodyNova (3D modeling solutions for plastic surgery results)
• ShopPoints project (a service that helps stores attract customers)

The application procedure for participation in the competitive selection is as simple as possible. For this company, it is enough to go through online registration and submit an application (in a very competent template) on the Microsoft portal for startups ( www.ms-start.ru ).

The startups selected at this stage will present their developments to the selection committee of the Fund, which includes leading experts from among venture capital organizations, including the Skolkovo Foundation, RVC, Almaz Capital Partners, Glavstart, etc. The decision on grant support is made at regular meetings of the selection committee.

Summarizing my holiday post, I invite you to our Microsoft BizSpark Startup Portal - www.ms-start.ru . I hope that you will definitely find the resources you need there.

My colleagues from the Microsoft startup team will be happy to answer your questions at rustart@microsoft.com .

Waiting for your application at BizSpark!

Sincerely,
Julia Shcheglova,
Program Manager, Microsoft BizSpark
Microsoft Russia

juliash@microsoft.com