During one of our many pitches to investors we heard the phrase: "Microsoft has no startup DNA". The basic interpretation is that if you are an entrepreneur coming out of Microsoft you'll have a hard time convincing investors that you can think and execute in a startup environment.
Recently, I've met with another ex-Microsoft senior exec, that told me he was surprised at how much of a liability having spent so much time at Microsoft has become.
What do I have to say about this?
Yes, it is true. Microsoft has no startup DNA. Not only the company as a whole is uncapable of fostering a startup mentality, but also 99% of the people working at Microsoft have no startup DNA. They would not be able to be entrepreneurs and to create a business from scratch.
Now, there are 1% of those (which is a lot on a 70,000-employee company) that do have it. Most of them are still fighting the system from the inside. Stressing themselves out at why they can't get anything done. But a small amount of them don't put up with that and quit and create their own companies, or join very early stage startups.
So, dear investor, don't tell me I have no startup DNA. Odds are that I have more than you do, because most investors on this region got their fortune from Microsoft, Boeing, Amazon or Real Networks, and they really never founded any company.
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November, 2007
