Larry Gregory's Blog

Announcing BizSpark Camp New York

Larrygr — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 20:17:14 GMT

We’ve run a number of successful Microsoft BizSpark Incubation Weeks over the past year and are now bringing the love to New York City in the form of Microsoft BizSpark Camp.

BizSpark Camp will be held 1/28 to 1/29/2010 and consist of ½ day of training, 1 day of active prototype/development time, and ½ day for packaging/finishing and reporting out to a panel of judges.

This time we are featuring a $5,000 cash prize!

The focus for this no-fee event is cloud computing, specifically developing solutions that leverage the Windows Azure Platform.

Past events have been very highly rated, for both the technical enablement as well as the business guidance offered. I’ll be there to host the panel review and feedback – I hope to see you there!

You can get the details and request participation here.

Happy Holidays!

Larrygr — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 01:00:15 GMT

Where did December go? It was here, then… poof it was gone!

I had the opportunity earlier in the month to meet with our Managed ISVs via roundtables in DC and Chicago. We’d received fantastic ratings from our partners in the most recent survey. My primary interest was to get their feedback on how we could further fine tune our value-add as an Evangelism organization. We also had plenty to talk about with the Azure news at the recent Professional Developers Conference, the beta release of Visual Studio 2010, and the beta release of SharePoint 2010. No shortage of technology here…

I also had a significant exec review this month as part of a team looking to advance our joint sales execution with Managed ISVs. The roundtables provided a good external sounding board, validating some of our internal conclusions and encouraging us to think globally (a trap I sometimes fall in by running a US-specific organization). The recommendations were received favorably and our scope was actually expanded. Delivering on those ideas will take significant cycles in the next quarter.

We have our annual mid-year review in January where we report out on the state of the business and make adjustments to maximize our scorecard results. We are in great shape this year, particularly in comparison with last year. There are still several key areas we need to hunker down to achieve, but all in all, I feel great about where we are.

One key area we’ll dial up on is WebsiteSpark (for Custom Application Web Developers). It follows in the footsteps of the very successful BizSpark program (for Startups). It also provides licenses for development tools and servers, but also provides a direct way to connect with customers (via the Partner Catalog). It is off to a good start, but has a ways to go to reach the levels of BizSpark (>25,000 members).

To our BizSpark startup partners, I wish you the very best via our official BizSpark greeting card :)

BizSpark Incubation Week (Atlanta) – Video Interviews Posted

Larrygr — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 05:02:09 GMT

Videos are now available for the 7 startups that successfully completed BizSpark Incubation Week in Atlanta a couple weeks ago.

Linxter brings MonitorGrid to manage servers from cloud

LessMeeting improves the productivity and efficiency of enterprise meetings

Izenda brings the power of self-serve BI from cloud

FandomU brings worldwide enthusiasts and passionate individuals closer via events/conferences

CoreMotives combines the power of Dynamics xRM and Windows Azure Platform to offer new Marketing Automation solution

EyeMail delivers personalized audio/video emails from Windows Azure

ChasingSavings.com adopts the Windows Azure Platform to meet the needs of their growing business

Thanks once again to all the participants, advisors, presenters, and judges!

BizSpark Incubation Week Boston – Startup Interviews

Larrygr — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 21:00:53 GMT

We’ve gotten past our video production challenges and now have startup interviews available from the recent BizSpark Incubation Week in Boston:

Note that several startups were highlighted at PDC this week (where we announced that 25,000 startups enrolled in BizSpark in the past year!)

Exciting Startups at BizSpark Incubation Week - Atlanta

Larrygr — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 06:51:46 GMT

We wrapped up another BizSpark Incubation Week on Friday (in Atlanta, GA). This time there were 7 startups participating (a record for Incubation Week!)

The last few Incubation Weeks focused on optimizing for Windows 7. This event targeting cloud computing solutions, leveraging Windows Azure.

We had a nice mix of startups in terms of solution types and company maturity (we’ll have the video interviews posted to Channel9 in a couple weeks):

Izenda provides a self service business intelligence solution. They had rich product capabilities and were a top contender for the business viability award. Sanjay from Izenda started the BizSpark Atlanta Meetup and was one of the most poised presenters.
FandomU has deep expertise in running enthusiast conventions (e.g., anime, scifi). I could see how their social networking & event management offering could be compelling to those audiences. I admire their commitment - their founder pulled an all-nighter the night before the judging.
Linxter provides a management solution for the mid-market. They had the most improved presentation – a remarkable change from the dry run.
CoreMotives has a marketing automation offering that integrates with Dynamics CRM. They won the Most Viable Business award.
ChasingSavings provides simplified couponing. Their differentiation of search engine discovery should serve them well.
LessMeeting was the youngest startup (having only started a week prior to Incubation Week), but won the Technical Innovation award. Their add-in to Outlook (and corresponding web presence) was compelling – everyone can relate to the need to run more efficient meetings.
Eyemail provides video/audio streaming in context of email messages, resulting in more impactful customer (and internal) communications.

I appreciate the hard work the startups put in to maximize their results from Incubation week, as well as the Microsoft advisors, offshore team, and panel of judges in pulling off another successful BizSpark Incubation Week!

Windows 7 & Visual Studio 2010

Larrygr — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:01:14 GMT

It has been almost 2 weeks since the launch of Windows 7 – an opportunity to pause and look back on our preparation and the stellar support provided by our partner ecosystem. Windows 7 has landed exceptionally well in the marketplace. We’ve seen some crazy things, like a 7 layer Whopper promo in Japan and people camping out for midnight store openings.

I am optimistic the momentum we see in Microsoft Windows will translate as additional business for Microsoft partners. A recent IDC study estimated that technology companies in the US will sell an extra $110 billion in Windows 7-related products and services through the end of next year. Those companies will also boost the economy by investing $41 billion to develop, sell, and support new products for Windows 7 users.

The evangelism teams were able to secure public statements of support for thousands of applications worldwide. We haven’t achieved this kind of pre-release support ever, and I sincerely appreciate the partnerships we have. Customers can now easily identify applications that work with the current generation OS via the Windows 7 Compatibility Center.

The top news this month is that Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4.0 have reached beta status (with official launch planned for March 22). We've announced a much simpler product lineup (we did away with the role-specific versions) and have brought significant new product capabilities. We've included powerful prototyping, modeling, test, and design tools and expanded the platform support to include Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, SQL Server 2008, Microsoft SharePoint and cloud applications. MSDN is integrated into most of the product offerings and has been expanded with Azure compute hours, TFS licensing, and e-learning offerings via a revamped MSDN site.

Partners will continue receiving the same or (in most cases) better value Microsoft development tools benefits via the Microsoft Partner Network. For example, the net change for Gold Certified Partners with ISV Competency is they will receive Visual Studio 2010 Premium (replacing their VSTS Development Edition) and 35 Visual Studio Team Foundation Server 2010 licenses.

Customers have the option to leverage the “Ultimate Offer” promotion prior to release: buy or renew your MSDN Premium subscription to receive a more advanced edition of Visual Studio 2010 with MSDN when it ships.

Try Windows Azure Cloud Computing - Today

Larrygr — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:04:00 GMT

Updating this post with a new and improved step by step guide (created by Tony Bailey)...

Once we flip Windows Azure into production mode , it won’t be the free flowing sandbox it is today. I suggest you kick the tires to see how to create an Azure app now, so you get a sense of how it works.

This step by step guide results in a simple web site:

http://blogs.technet.com/webtech/archive/2009/10/17/host-a-simple-website-on-the-windows-azure-platform.aspx

I hope you find it helpful in getting to know Windows Azure.

Reminder: we are taking nominations for the first Azure focused BizSpark Incubation Week (taking place the week of Nov 9) here.

Startup Community Roundtable - Connecticut

Larrygr — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:38:58 GMT

I hosted a BizSpark Startup Community roundtable in Connecticut today. Attendees represented investors, associations, and of course BizSpark startups. Each shared a resource they thought was valuable to them and we had a lively discussion about how to best position startups to investors. I explained the following startup-related resources available from Microsoft:

Software

· BizSpark MSDN access (www.microsoft.com/bizspark): $100 at exit (3 year program, annual renewal survey)

· Azure Cloud Services (www.microsoft.com/azure): available for development now

· Microsoft Empower (www.microsoft.com/partner/empower): $375 for 5 internal use software licenses including Office 2007/Windows 7

Support

· Business resources on Microsoft Startup Zone (http://www.microsoftstartupzone.com/Resources)

· MSDN support incidents and managed forums (msdn.microsoft.com)

- Startups should add developers as “additional members” so they have their own MSDN access

· Developer training (www.msdev.com)

· Developer information (http://channel9.msdn.com)

· Incubation Week: http://blogs.msdn.com/sanjayjain/

· ISV Developer Community blog: http://blogs.msdn.com/usisvde/

· Metro (www.discovermetro.net): must be nominated by MS employee

· Discounts to PDC (pdc09@ustechs.com): $1K discount if in Metro, $500 if in BizSpark alone

Visibility

· Microsoft Startup Zone BizSparkDB (www.microsoftstartupzone.com)

· East Region Startup Evangelist (http://blogs.msdn.com/brianjo): Brian Johnson

· Microsoft Ambassadors (Patrick.Foley @microsoft.com)

· Windows 7 Enablement and Ready to Go Marketing (www.msdev.com/frontrunner)

· Microsoft BizSpark Logo (http://www.microsoft.com/bizspark/Startup/DownloadLogos.aspx)

On a related note, one of the startups from last week’s BizSpark Incubation Week in Boston published a very nice music video that tells their story. You can check it out here.

BizSpark Incubation Week (Boston) Recap

Larrygr — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 18:32:23 GMT

We wrapped up another exciting BizSpark Incubation Week on Friday (in Boston). We had 5 quality teams participating and it was very interesting to see the variety of Windows 7 capabilities used (multi-touch, IE8 accelerators, taskbar integration, jumplists, federated search, speech).

I was very impressed with Baydin. Alex, a single entrepreneur (and recent MIT graduate), participated in the TechStars program this summer and it showed in how well he articulated his business plan. His offering adds a content pane in Outlook where documents relevant to the selected email are listed. By leveraging Windows 7 Federated Search, he was able to reference content on the web as well. It is a very practical concept: one that I would find valuable today.

Panopto was the winner of the Most Viable Business award. They provide presentation recording software and already have tremendous traction in the education market. The judging panel really liked the size of the market they were addressing and the team’s grasp of market realities. I was very impressed with Eric (their CTO): he is an incredibly bright guy and held up well under the judges Q&A. Their Windows 7 integration included launching recordings from the taskbar and leveraging the Windows speech engine for speech to text.

SocialGrow helps people grow their social network. One of the founders is a well-connected recruiter and understands the needs of sales people and other ‘connectors’. I wonder if people will saturate on number of Friends in online social networks, but can see certain business development roles wanting endless contacts. They leveraged Windows 7 via an IE8 Accelerator (select an email and see a shortcut to engage them as a social connection) and Federated Search.

The eye candy for the week was BumpTop. They are broadly recognized for their innovation as a 3-D desktop and adapted their advanced gestures to work with Windows 7 at Incubation Week. They also produced an impressive mobile to desktop integration (take a picture, toss it to your desktop) that made jaws drop. They won the Technical Innovation award.

AnswerPoint Medical Systems is working in the huge field of automating electronic medical records. They have a compelling case for entering that market, given the level of government investment and I suspect there will be many ISVs (new and established) making a bid for this area. They leveraged Windows 7 multi-touch and speech recognition capabilities as part of their solution.

Congrats to all the participants and many thanks to the presenters, technical mentors, judges, and offshore team that contributed to another successful BizSpark Incubation Week.

The next stop for BizSpark Incubation Week is Atlanta (the week of 11/9) and will focus on Windows Azure cloud computing solutions. Several of the solutions in Boston leveraged Azure already, so I suspect there will be strong interest in the Atlanta offering. You can nominate a startup team here.

The New Efficiency (launch event) in Boston

Larrygr — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 05:13:38 GMT

I had the opportunity to kick off the Windows 7 developer track in Boston this week. The “New Efficiency” launch is how Microsoft is introducing Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, and Exchange 2010.

The developer session was 100% full: people that arrived 10 minutes late had to be redirected to another session after all the seats in the theater had been filled in. I polled the crowd and it was roughly 30% ISVs, 30% consultants, and 40% corporate or government entities.

I was thrilled to see the strong turnout for Windows 7 development. Developers are what make our platform compelling – the OS is just an enabler.

The key subjects covered were:

Leveraging UI enhancements such as Windows 7 Taskbar and Jump Lists, enabling users to be more productive
Differentiating applications with next generation UI capabilities including Windows 7 multitouch and the Ribbon (task oriented menus popularized by Office 2007)
Providing context-aware applications that adapt to their surroundings via the Windows 7 Sensor and Location Platform

We’ve been working hard with our partners to get them ready for Windows 7. Literally thousands of applications have been tested and have a public statement of Windows 7 compatibility support in anticipation of the October 22 general availability date. That kind of support prior to launch of an Operating System is unprecedented; we truly have a fantastic partner community.

If you are an ISV and haven’t tested your application yet, get yourself over to www.MSDev.com/FrontRunner so you can get yourself tested and tap into some unique marketing benefits once you get your statement of compatibility published. If you’re interested in the topics covered at the launch, www.MSDev.com has a roster of Windows 7 training you can partake at your leisure.

MassTLC Innovation 2009 unConference

Larrygr — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 18:50:38 GMT

I love the unConference format: it is “survival of the fittest” for discussion topics.

I attended the Mass Tech Leadership Council unConference this week: 400 investors and other influentials combined with up and coming entrepreneurs made for an energetic, vibrant meeting. It is great to see the explicit effort being made to create a connected startup community.

I sat in on a cloud computing session led by Judith Hurwitz (author of SOA for Dummies and Cloud Computing for Dummies). There were a mix of startups and established vendors present. There is a noticeable lack of large, highly successful cloud consumers (businesses that run their business on a cloud platform versus businesses that provide cloud computing services). We are still in the early days for adoption and I personally am trying to keep my hype in check. With that said, we’re very excited to be releasing our Azure cloud services next month at PDC. :)

There was a session on Mobile business models. There was a healthy discussion on Free, Premium, and Freemium (free, then upgrade to premium) approaches. Apparently the iPhone app store doesn’t permit the Free-to-Premium upgrade in-place approach (probably because it would take Apple out of the monetization loop). 2-3% conversion of Free to Premium editions is typical, but some companies in the room were in the 7-10% range. Interestingly, the net cost of acquisition is going up (from $1-$1.50/app) rather than going down. It apparently takes 25K downloads per day to get into the overall top 10 listing.

I also ran a session on “BizSpark and other Microsoft resources for startups”. An interesting factoid cited was that $347K is the average Angel round investment.

We ran a successful Architect unConference for our Managed ISVs as well as enterprise architects earlier this year. Based on its success, we’ll be running 7-8 across the country over the next 6 months. Stay tuned to our team blog for news.

BizSpark Incubation Week - Boston

Larrygr — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 19:10:00 GMT

We are coming down the home stretch in preparing for the upcoming BizSpark Incubation Week in Boston (October 5-9). These are high value events that help startups build out solutions in record time by leveraging Microsoft technical experts as well as receive business guidance from industry experts.

This Incubation Week helps startups leverage the unique capabilities of Windows 7 (including multi-touch, jumplists, etc.).

We still have a couple openings available for interested startups. Learn about the event details including how to request participation here.

Sparks are Flying!

Larrygr — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:25:00 GMT

In addition to DreamSpark (for students) and BizSpark (for software startups), as of this morning we now have WebsiteSpark (for Web Professionals). This is an exciting milestone!

WebsiteSpark provides small (10 people or less) web developer and designer shops access to Microsoft software, as well as the training, support and market exposure they need, to help their businesses succeed. This follows a similar model to BizSpark in that the primary benefits are:

Software: Web professionals receive fast, easy access to current Microsoft development tools, and Web server and database hosting production licenses. They will be able to improve their productivity through cost-effective hosting solutions for their new Web sites (server licenses are included!)
Support: Web professionals get support from Microsoft, including technical support, online training, managed newsgroups, and access to the MSDN developer community and resources.
Business Opportunities: Web professionals are able to expand their customer base and drive new business by connecting with an ecosystem of customers, partners, and other Web professionals with complementary technologies. The primary vehicle for this is the marketplace portal (www.microsoft.com/web/websitespark/market) coming later this fall.

The ultimate purpose of WebsiteSpark is to enable web developers and designers to create and deploy differentiated, innovative Internet sites and applications on Windows Server.

Did I mention there is no cost to join? :)

Like BizSpark, there is a $100 exit fee (when you leave the program in 3 years).

If you develop web sites for a living, get over to www.microsoft.com/web/websitespark to learn more about the program!

The 2009 Cantor Colburn LLP Innovation and Entrepreneurship Summit

Larrygr — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 07:06:27 GMT

I had the opportunity to be a judge for the 2009 Cantor Colburn / CCAT Innovation & Entrepreneurship Summit’s Elevator Pitch Competition (that’s a mouthful) today. There we 45 startups presented in rapid-fire (90 second) intervals. We assessed the companies on their presentation, business idea, and future potential. A couple non-traditional solutions that impressed me were:

a wrist band that spoke to your cell phone to wake you up at the optimum interval based on your sleep pattern so you wake up refreshed
a company that could mine millions of stem cells from a tooth

There were a number of awards given out. I was particularly pleased to see that a BizSpark startup won the software innovation award: Weston Software. They plug into Microsoft’s Management Console to extend our management story to monitor Unix and Mac platforms. Hank Voight (CEO) was there to accept the award – congrats Hank!

I encountered several other startups in attendance that leveraged BizSpark including WebNotes, a solution that supports your taking notes (e.g., doing research) on web properties, and Myplaylist which intends to enable sharing and monetization of shared music playlists.

BizSpark has been a huge hit, well exceeding our expectations for year one. We’ve been adding value to the BizSpark program via improved training (e.g., www.msdev.com) and access to high-value support like Incubation Weeks, which I’ve mentioned in prior posts.

We have another Incubation Week coming up in Boston the week of October 5. Info on how to request to participate (BizSpark members are prioritized) is listed in the post.

The Sturgis Effect

Larrygr — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 16:15:27 GMT

A couple years ago, I had the opportunity to ride to the annual Sturgis Bike Week in South Dakota . I wasn’t an avid biker (I had a small Honda 250 13 years earlier) and was primary going for the journey, not the destination. What I witnessed was eye opening.

Every year, half a million people converge on the small town (normal population = 6,400) for bike week. Everyone was unique, yet it felt like a community because they shared a common interest in motorcycles.

It made me think how we interact as early adopters of technology. Evangelism as a discipline tends to think in terms of developers, but the breadth of people who use new technology has exploded over the past few years.

Developing a community of passionate technologists that value connecting and sharing their experiences is the basis for “The Sturgis Effect”, the vision we’re driving toward in our Partner Evangelism Group. I think of it as a kind of recurring Woodstock - but more comfortable and legal :)

Microsoft as the platform provider with the largest partner ecosystem certainly has a stake in encouraging this kind of interaction, but I envision something that isn’t Microsoft-led. We already have large-scale events like TechEd and PDC which slant toward us communicating to the audience. Rather, I seek a community-driven effort where Microsoft plays a supporting role.

Are you participating in a the technology community? How can we achieve a similar “Sturgis Effect”?