Why Do Software Startups Choose Microsoft?

Are you a start up company considering your platform technology choices, or perhaps just looking at the web as your next delivery platform?  If so, you’ll likely find some useful stories shared by other start ups, by visiting The Microsoft Startup Zone.  It’s a guide to working with Microsoft especially designed for and by startups who are working with Microsoft.  On the Microsoft Startup Zone, you’ll find an informative series of interviews with the CTOs of other software startups. You can read about what Microsoft technologies they are using, why they made those choices, how the technologies have benefited their companies, and whether they would make the same choices again.

To date, there are interviews with three CTOs, all of whom are members of the Microsoft Startup Accelerator Program. More interviews are in the works, but to begin with, you can read these:

· Russell Greenspan, VP of Technology Strategy and Software Architecture, Tutor.com (on demand homework help and tutoring services). Microsoft has a strategic alliance with Tutor.com to provide on-demand tutoring to students who purchase Microsoft Student with Encarta Premium 2008.

· Joe Kleinschmidt, CTO, Leverage Software (private label social networking and community software; running sites for Dwell, the New York Times, HP and Salesforce.com.)

· Rolf Kaiser, CTO, iBloks (a maker of 3D advertising software and unified service). Watch for 50+ innovative InstantAds by iBloks on the Microsoft Startup Zone site in March. There is one about each of the software companies in the new Microsoft Startup Accelerator Program.

Also on the Microsoft Startup Zone is a new section designed for entrepreneurs who have not yet made a platform decision called Why Microsoft?    This site explores the issues of getting your ideas into production quickly, scaling efficiently when you are ready, and weaving in open source code and tools.

Kris Olson

Microsoft Emerging Business Team