Strive Notes

But still, the place was packed out with venture capitalists and reporters all looking to discover the next big thing.

Many of the participants will have been born as labours of love in the basements, garages and apartments of keen code writers, all now looking for a leg up to the next stage of their development but finding finance and credit a bit hard to pin down.

These are exactly the kind of folks for whom Microsoft created its BizSpark programme late last autumn.

It targets early-stage software start-ups and gives them resources including access to Microsoft platform software and development tools with no upfront costs.

The programme also provides access to technical support and marketing visibility from Microsoft, as well as support through a select group of network partners – industry associations, government agencies, university incubators and investors.

Microsoft launched BizSpark in Silicon Valley, but it’s now available here in the Isle of Man through the Business & Innovation Centre (IoM BIC), a joint initiative of the DTI and Coventry University Enterprises.

Click here to read the rest of this Tech Talk column.

(Note: the headline writer at the newspaper got it wrong. The client referred to in this column is not Manx. Soz).

Related articles by Zemanta

• Tech Startups Don’t Need the Valley Unless They Need VC (gigaom.com)

Filed under: public relations