Start-ups don’t use Microsoft?

Last week I watched one of my favourite bands – Turin Brakes - play a free gig in Camden, London. They were headlining at Intel’s Studio; a competition for unsigned bands to win a record deal.

When they came on stage they told us they haven’t got a record deal – they had been dropped by EMI. I was shocked. Even if you have all the talent in the world, it doesn’t guarantee success. My friend who was with me commented that EMI can’t have been doing their job properly as he’d not even heard they’d had a new album out last year – they hadn’t been promoted.

It got me thinking, what gives you the edge to create success in business? Is it a great product or service? Well that helps. Yet there are plenty of start-ups out there with great products and services that never “make it”. There are plenty of bands out there with buckets of talent that never “make it”.

Could success come from how well you talk about yourself? Well that skill is important, for sure. If you can’t get across to your product’s benefits or value then no one will buy it, right? But how as a start-up can you amplify your voice to make it louder than all the others out there?

Is there anything that Microsoft can bring to the table to help you amplify your voice? Well SportsDo are a good example of a start-up that have been smart about using Microsoft’s marketing muscle. They’ve got a cool solution that uses Microsoft technology and they’ve networked well with the right people at Microsoft UK to build relationships. They keynoted at Mix UK last year and demo’d their app and then last week have been featured in a Microsoft video on Software + Services.

Check out all the other examples of start-ups that have used Microsoft.

So they’ve used the marketing muscle of Microsoft and also the technology too. Steve points out why not many start-ups use Microsoft technology in their products and services. One reason is that Microsoft doesn’t do start-ups; as in we don’t work with them. Nothing could be further from the truth. We have whole teams who work for The Start-up Zone where you can get access to free software and advice to build your products and services.

So it’s a combination of using Microsoft technology and marketing muscle to give you an edge.

The key thing for me is understanding that Microsoft builds platforms, so you don’t have to. The platform allows you to innovate quickly whilst spending less than you think.