MICROSOFT BIZSPARK ANNOUNCEMENT
LETTER FROM MAYOR DALEY
GREETINGS
As mayor and on behalf of the City of Chicago, I extend my congratulations to all those attending the reception for the winners of the 2008 Chicago Innovation Awards hosted by Flashpoint Academy and Microsoft.
Having developed an innovative new product or service in the Chicago region in the past year, the award winners can take pride in their excellence and drive to succeed. The Chicago Innovation Awards, established in 2001 as a public service by the Chicago Sun-Times and the consulting firm Kuczmarski & Associates, highlight the vital role creative entrepreneurs play in strengthening our local economy.
The enterprises honored tonight have been vital in keeping the Chicago region one of the most diverse and progressive economies in the nation with their commitment to creating jobs and offering outstanding services to their customers. Chicago has often been at the forefront of excellence and innovation in the field of communication, and I commend Flashpoint Academy for its commitment to educating the next generation of media professionals.
May you all have an enjoyable and memorable reception.
Sincerely,
Mayor Richard M. Daley
Congratulations to all the 2008 Innovation Award Winners
Abbott, Cleversafe, Fieldglass, First Alert, Flashpoint Academy, Gas Technology Institute, Molex Incorporated, National Pasteurized Eggs, Inc., PrepMe and Zorch International
HAT Comments
Chris has done a great job of outlining the value of BizSpark – I want to talk about why MSFT is doing this and why I have become one of the first Network Partners.
But first I want to simply congratulate all the 2008 Innovation Award winners again without repeating my remarks from that great night and tell you about a little about Flashpoint before you have a chance to take our short tours. (And I know that the tours are competing with food and drink, but I assure you that the time is worthwhile.)
Now to BizSpark – it couldn’t be simpler
1. MSFT believes that by helping startups succeed, they will grow into long-term business partners and help build and expand the global software economy. I can tell you that this is true since I have built several companies with MSFT’s help and support and I have been a partner with them since 1993 – more than 16 years.
2. Great software isn’t inexpensive and software today is critical to virtually every startup and hard for them to afford precisely when they need it most. FREE software is, of course, best of all along with a powerful global network of support across the board – incubators –investors – govt organizations – etc.
3. The MSFT BizSpark Network is the implementation and evidence of MSFT’s commitment to provide broad cross-industry and global support for the largest possible startup population as well as crucial exposure for their stories.
And that’s where the Network Partners come in – identifying, supporting and enrolling qualified startups into the new program which is live right now and found at www.microsoft.com/bizspark.
As someone who has started more than a dozen businesses over the last 30 years and who has won the Innovation Award for the last 2 years in a row (which I guarantee you won’t happen again next year – as they have politely already told me), I appreciate the simplicity of this program maybe more than anything although MSFT’s generosity in making this commitment comes in a strong second.
So I want to take a moment to tell you the basics of what it is:
a. you need to be a startup that is less than 3 years old
b. you need to have revenues under $1 million
c. you need to be building a software-based product or service
d. You need to be recommended by a Network Partner who enrolls you.
That’s it. It’s free for up to three years. It includes, as you heard, software, support and visibility, and you can get started immediately by getting in touch with a Network Partner like me even tonight although tomorrow by email is a much better idea as far as I’m personally concerned.
There are also others here tonight from MSFT and the Chicago Convergence who can get you started as well and they will all be here after the tours to talk to you downstairs while we are all networking. I’m sure people will have questions and that’s what the rest of the night is for. Last, but not least, following our event, Tech Cocktail also gets going tonight (also sponsored by MSFT) and many of the same faces will be there as well and happy to chat.
TOURS
