BuzzTable Joins BingFund!

BuzzTable has agreed to take a strategic investment from the Bing Fund!  See their earlier announcement here.

 

Hailing from NYC and built by a team of hospitality veterans, BuzzTable is a suite of services catering to restaurants and guests alike. Using the services, restaurants get to spend more time managing and improving the guest experiences, and less time worrying about the waitlist or creating inefficient loyalty campaigns. For guests, no more big awkward buzzers to walk around with or repeatedly checking in with the host to see how the line is progressing.

 

Helping drive efficiency in an industry the size of restaurants is a formidable challenge for any-sized company. Startups who take on big bold challenges with the singular belief that they can simplify the experience at scale using technology and smarts, is at the core of what Bing Fund believes – disruption can come from many places.

 

 

Check out the awesome 18-sec video announcement BuzzTable created on the fly!

RIP Voodoo ...Long Live Razer

Well the cat is officially out of the bag ...

 

If you had been a follower of Voodoo you'll know that I have nothing but love for Razer. Razer is truly unique.  They are much more than a premium gaming accessory company.

 

Razer took a backwards approach to our strategy --- There was a time when Voodoo was building beautiful luxury performance & gaming PCs.  Our systems were a significant departure from anything in the market.  With out of control attention to detail, technology, and performance, we ended up settings standards in how companies built gaming PCs.  Our PCs were to become a halo for an accessory strategy that we were just starting to roll out.

 

At that time Razer was building premium gaming accessories, their business was growing in leaps and bounds as their enigmatic CEO and dedicated team built a brand and culture that captured an audience of diehard fans.  Razer recently started a devices business on the back of their huge accessory business.  A devices business with a purpose.  Their devices are beautiful, thoughtful, soulful and they fill a hole in the market that many gamers have been clamoring for. 

In the process Min built a halo product for their entire brand, the Razer Blade.  There is definitely a method to his madness.  

 

Very similar to Voodoo, and dare I say it – very similar to Apple (in the very early days), Razer developed a cult following.  Having a growing fanbase is priceless for multiple reasons, not least of which is you create an army of evangelists at no cost.  I can’t even begin to explain how important Apple’s fans and evangelists were when the company was suffering – it’s something that all companies struggle to build.  Razer has it.  They have all the ingredients to be a spectacular break out company. I believe they are a company to watch. 

Min and I have been working together in some capacity for many years, in a way we're kindred spirits.  So all said, Razer is the definitive spiritual successor to Voodoo.  They have a soulful brand, a unique identity, a premium product with their own technology, and most important – a fanbase and culture that can never be replicated.  They are also independent, and profitable. 

 

I rarely do stuff like this – but by making it official and becoming an advisor to their board of directors I can finally scratch that itch that I’ve had since I saw the first carbon fiber Voodoo ENVY came off the line. … and the recurring nightmares of waking up one morning to a printer with my brand stamped on it will no longer haunt me.

 

So now I can continue to focus on the next great chapter of my life.  I could write a book on this story – maybe one day I will.  This is a great end to one era and the beginning of another.

RIP VoodooPC, and Long Live Razer!   

Bing Fund welcomes Sonar

 

March is full of excitement and promises. Spring is on the horizon. People are restless. And Austin readies itself for the annual geek-stampede that is SXSW Interactive.

 

That was the scene last year where Bing once again had the pleasure of hanging out with the Sonar crew led by founder, Brett Martin. Over the years, Bing has crossed paths with Sonar across the land of tech probably more than any other startup.

 

Whether it was TC Disrupt NYC, PSFK NYC, at our own pop-up gallery, SMW, and most recently Xconomy NYC, wherever we went, it seemed that cool little periscope was right there with us.

 

We would bring each other up to speed, and talk about “hey, wouldn’t it be cool to work together?” And go our separate ways until the next serendipitous encounter.

 

This is why we’re particularly excited about today’s announcement that Sonar will be part of the Bing Fund. Did I mention that we love NYC? What a great startup city ...

Shedding more light on Hackathon for Autism

 

 

Starting next month, Bing Fund is excited to kick off the first in a series of hackathons around autism. You can find additional details and registration info here.

 

Last week we started sharing details about the event, primarily on Twitter. Overwhelmingly the response has been positive with many of you expressing support and sharing the news. However, we also received some feedback questioning our motivation and methodology. By sharing the following, we hope to bring more clarity to the event:

 

Q. Why did you pick autism as a theme?

 

A. Autism is a neural development disorder that impacts millions of lives, including many Northwest-area families in the high technology industry.  Existing tools and solutions for families and institutions coping with autism are lacking.  Adoption of evolving technologies to support new functional scenarios is sorely needed throughout the lifetime of an individual with autism.

 

Q. Why the focus on children? What about helping adults?

 

A. Based on extensive conversations with researchers and top thinkers in the field of autism, we repeatedly heard this is where the biggest need was when it came to making a lifelong impact on people with autism – helping children grow independence. This is not to say adults can’t benefit from more help, they can. But while adults, generally, tend to have more options depending on where they fall on the spectrum, effective support for children is often lacking.

 

This is where, as a tech community using a hackathon format, we felt we could drive the biggest utility around by building apps, for example. Based on what we learn at our first event, we very well may shift our focus to other age groups. If you have thoughts on this topic, always feel free to leave us a comment below. 

 

Q. I saw the agenda. Why isn’t anybody with autism represented?

 

A. We are actively working with and looking for families touched by autism or autistic individuals to join us at the event. Participation by autistic individuals is absolutely critical to helping formulate and test the scenarios we want to tackle. In addition, we are still refining the agenda so ideas or suggestions on how we can better represent the community are welcome. 

 

Q. What do you hope to achieve, exactly, through the event?

 

A. Quality prototypes—an online application for a mobile device, for example—which will be subsequently developed at future hackathons or independently by interested parties. The ultimate goal is to introduce a product to market that will help people in real life.  

 

Every hackathon is a learning experience whether you’re a builder, a thinker, a subject matter expert, or even a spectator. This is true for us as a host – the Bing Fund – and we expect and encourage different thoughts and suggestions be shared as we go along.  Healthy dialogue is the lifeblood of a vibrant, passionate community.

 

We appreciate the engagement, and if you’re in Seattle on March 22-

24, I hope you can join us in any capacity.

Bing Fund Team 

Hackathon for Autism

 

 

My team at Microsoft is producing a series of Hackathons for Autism where we will invite technologists, designers, subject matter experts, and people living with Autism (both families and individuals) to participate and help us produce prototypes which we will continue to build on at subsequent events. 

 

Depending on the feedback from the first event we will likely modify the themes at each subsequent events to focus on specific areas.  

 

Please check out the site here ... and please help spread the word, below are some sample tweets you can cut and paste!  Thank you so much!

 

Hackathon for Autism! @BingFund is hosting a hackathon to help families living with #autism https://www.bingfund.com/autism

 

Help us build prototypes for Autism! http://bit.ly/Xl6ztP w @UW @SeattleChildren @SCAutismGuild @TeachTown @AutismSpeaks #autism

If you have any questions at all please email us at bingfund at microsoft.com.

Thanks for reading! 

Online Dating, Reimagined

Online Dating, Reimagined

 

Bing Fund is excited to kick off 2013 by welcoming our next investment, LikeBright!

 

Hailing from fast-rising startup ecosystem that’s Seattle, LikeBright is innovating matchmaking in two fundamental ways – by socializing the process, and introducing better balance between men and women users. Traditionally, meeting somebody online has consisted of users signing up to a service, answering a series of questionnaires, and connecting with, well, strangers. And for females, the process could be even more taxing; on competing sites, men outnumber woman by a ratio of 4-to-1.

 

What LikeBright does is leverage your existing connections on social networks to help people meet their friends’ friends and match their friends up. In other words, you get the best of both worlds – the scale of your network to help source a match from, and the safety in trusting who’s being recommended by your friends and family. And by virtue of sourcing through social networks, the likelihood of playing on a level is higher.

 

To celebrate today’s announcement, LikeBright is kicking off a contest to find the World’s Best Matchmaker, where winners will be rewarded with a number of cool prizes! For contest details, check out their blog post.

  

Special shout out to Andy Sack of Founders Co-Op and TechStars Seattle for connecting us to LikeBright! Today’s announcement is more evidence of an increasingly rich and vibrant ecosystem we have here in Seattle.

new years resolutions are bs

Generally speaking New Years Resolutions are a farce.  They are an excuse to say "what you should have done" in the previous year.  In other words, they are looking, with envy, in a distorted reality mirror, and they generally don't last more than a couple of weeks. 

 

That said, instead of creating a bunch of random resolutions that you'll likely forget, why not focus on some of the best things you've learned over the years up until December 31 2012 and what you'll take with you and improve on into 2013?  You can then add to the list in 2013, that is if you are into self reflection and improvement.

 

Here are some of the things I will take with me into 2013  

 

1. generally speaking the concept of close friends & family are one in the same, treat your friends like you would your family & visa versa.
2. staying out of your comfort zone opens new opportunities and establishes new relationships quickly.
3. always always always be a good person.
4. surround yourself with brilliant people and appreciate them everyday for everything they do.
5. give give give and keep giving wherever you can (doesn't always involve money!). 
6. before you judge look in the mirror (this is a hard one, but I'll get there!).
7. be thankful, everyday, for everything you have and everything you don't.
8. know what you do not know.
9. say something really nice to at least one person everyday. 

 

... see you in 2013 and best wishes to all of you!

NY State of Mind

After a quick jaunt in NYC last week with our friends from BizSpark and Windows Store AppLabs (holler General Assembly, Xconomy, WeWork Labs, NYMT! ) our heads are still spinning from the dizzying array of startups we had a chance to meet. Wow. NYC, you have a lot going on. For example, did you know the NYC startup ecosystem we are twice as likely to find female founders or co-founders than in the Valley? Many of the companies we saw there are super dialed in, the quality is incredible. We found at least 3 that we're likely to invest in now and a few others with potential down the road. The experience last week in NYC is what makes this announcement even sweeter.

Selectable Media, a NYC-based ads platform startups, is officially joining the Bing Fund!

Selectable Media enables consumers to unlock digital content and services in exchange for viewing and interacting with brand advertising. They already have a number of big brand clients under their belt who Selectable Media is helping reach higher brand recall and scaled engagement when compared to traditional ads. Through innovation, they are raising the bar on what consumers can expect from ads, and what advertisers can offer. At Bing Fund, we love companies taking this approach. Using technology and creativity, Selectable Media has identified a unique approach to potentially disrupt a massive market. Money.

Over the next several months, as we continue to do with our portfolio companies Buddy and Pinion, Bing Fund will be working closely with the team to exhaustively explore and identify the paths to help them reach the next level whether that’s through access to domain expertise Microsoft possesses, technology resources, business development opportunities, or funding.  

If your company is tackling a big challenge by uniquely marrying tech and creativity like Selectable Media is and you’re interested in joining the Bing Fund, visit Bing Fund site to let us know. But like any good relationship, fit is critical. To see what we’re looking for in companies first, check out the tips on pitching to Bing Fund (and other incubators).

rahul

Haunted House & the Huffington Post

Happy Halloween Everyone! 

 

Hard to believe it's been only four months since we launched the Bing Fund at Microsoft!  I'm really happy with our progress, our team is fantastic...  Check out our interview on the Huffington Post below.  Also make sure you visit www.bing.com today to check out the animated haunted house! 

_________________________________________________

 

When you are building your company, you always end up facing that one hardest thing, or a myriad of hardest things. Every founder has experienced it, and if they haven't, they really haven't been a founder.

 

At a recent event that gathered some of the top Silicon Valley innovators to talk about their failures, I dove into the hardest things Bing Fund general manager Rahul Sood has ever experienced.

 

The Bing Fund was recently created by Microsoft to serve as an angel investor for young start-ups looking to work in a few areas of the web.

 

A high school protégé interested in gaming, Bing Fund general manager Rahul Sood developed VoodooPC machines, the first liquid-cooled PCs, with an eye of making the best PCs on the planet. In a nutshell, they were bought -- he turned down Michael Dell, who called him and emailed him personally -- and joined HP. But, as he told a crowd gathered at FailCon in San Francisco on Tuesday, he takes responsibility for taking his eye off the ball and letting HP have too much control over hiring, believing that a bigger company would do its best to bring in the right talent.

 

The lesson that Sood offers to start-up founders as now general manager of the Bing Fund, based in Bellevue, Wash., is this:

 

We asked him what are the essential pieces of what he looks for in a start-up, and how he sees the developer and startup ecosystem. We thought it was important to get down to the bottom of what the head of an angel fund thinks about the world he invests in.

 

One takeaway from his talk, that sheds some light on this, is that he said that founders and developers should consider Microsoft as a friendly "archangel" investor, that is looking to support start-ups with access to Bing APIs and other technologies that other start-ups don't get access to. In contrast to his experience with HP, he says that he feels immediately at home with Microsoft, because it's run by people who want to do good for the world.

 

The Bing Fund currently works with two startups, both in BizSpark, and they are taking on more soon.

 

click here for the interview

 

Startups, how Important is your brand?

 

As a startup, how important is your brand?

 

No, really. We’ve all heard about the glories wrought by maintaining a hygienic brand system in the likes of Apple, Red Bull, and Nike. Great.  So, yeah, brand integrity and building equity is important. Got it.

 

 

But you might be asking yourself “jeez, easy for big companies to ‘police’ their brand and make sure everything’s on point. But I’m scrappy. My priority is nailing the service, not making sure the logo has the proper white space around it.” Having a pristine brand is a luxury, a mere afterthought in my world, no?

 

No.

 

Because your brand is everything. EVERYTHING in the sense that it’s all-encompassing. That hip super saturated logo with a truncated vowel and dot-ly? Only the most visible slice of the pie. How does the experience flow? Is the UI intuitive? Does the button press down just right? Are the tweets adding value to the conversation? Does the founder sound authentic? Every point of contact users have with your company is your brand. Everything.

 

Which begs the question – how do you find your brand?  You. It emanates from the culture you cultivate and grow. It’s the people you surround yourself with, and the experiences you all build. Sure, you can have elements refined and statements polished by so-called pros. But the soul can only swell up from the culture you build.

I’ll be talking about my experience creating, then losing, and rediscovering my brand on 10/22 at Failcon.  Hope to see you there!