Despite the curated, inspirational feeds we see on social media, tech startup founders are overwhelmingly busy. And while burnout is common, it doesn’t have to keep you from reaching your business goals. Startup founders can pave a successful and sustainable path towards launching the next unicorn idea by taking advantage of communities, resources and the expertise of people who understand what it takes to build a large, successful company.
For those who are still seeking a network of experienced founders for support in their entrepreneurship journey, Microsoft for Startups is creating a virtual, inclusive community full of free tools, advice and networking opportunities to support tech founders at any stage via their digital platform, Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub. With features like the Microsoft Mentor Network, members of Founders Hub have access to expert support with engineering, product development, organization design, marketing and more!
Learn more about how to find balance on your tech entrepreneurship journey.
Find a Mentor or Sounding Board
Most entrepreneurs credit a mentor, expert, or fellow tech founder friend with providing tactical advice that saves money and time in potential mistakes. But too many founders are unable to find a mentor or expert without connections to Silicon Valley or the startup world. Through the Microsoft for Startups network of mentors, startup founders can connect with and meet with others who can provide experienced industry insights, as well as expert advice. Founders can book one-on-one meetings with seasoned Microsoft professionals directly through the Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub to discuss concepts like fundraising, marketing, product management, networking and idea validation.
Get Ahead Of The Curve With Online Learning
Founders shouldn’t have to stress over learning the ins and outs of each department of the startup on top of running operations. But with Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub, founders can stay ahead of the game in their industry without expensive or time consuming courses. Through tailored, self-guided training, founders can learn about the newest innovations and expand their skill set to build cutting edge products.
Level Up Your Startup’s Productivity
A common issue startups have is using too many tools and platforms in the management of the business. It can be costly and time consuming for founders to spread valuable information across platforms. But with Microsoft 365—formerly Microsoft Office 365—they can save time and money. The suite includes Teams, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint and more of Microsoft’s most-trusted productivity tools. When founders can manage the entire business in one place, startups have the capacity to invest more time and resources into innovation.
Don’t Reinvent the Wheel
There are tons of products in the market to address the challenges of setting up a business and building a product– from no-code tools to data compliance software– and it’s often difficult to figure out which is the best fit for your operations. Save your technology team countless hours of research and thousands of dollars spent on these services by leveraging Microsoft for Startup Founders Hub’s partner benefits. Startups can get discounted access to OpenAI’s GPT-3 models, Drata’s compliance automation software, Bubble’s no-code tools, Miro’s visual collaboration software and so much more.
Prepare For Challenges With Technical Support and Business Insights
For a growing startup, technical challenges can stall crucial progress and burden founders with undue stress. Finding an external advisor who knows the space well and can give you build recommendations or hands-on advice on architecting your startup, or building your tech stack can be huge. Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub connects startups with technical advisors for 1:1 sessions for personalized recommendations at zero cost. To track progress over time, there’s also a range of Microsoft services to help analyze data, build solutions, deploy complex enterprise applications and so much more.
Startups move the needle by creating solutions for many of society’s biggest problems. It’s time to create spaces for founders to come together and provide the next generation with the tools for innovation. Create space for yourself as a founder and get more resources to help you succeed by joining Microsoft Startup Founders Hub today!
This editorial is brought to you in partnership with Microsoft for Startups.
