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Ask HN: (No) Microsoft based start-ups?

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Ask HN: (No) Microsoft based start-ups?

#1

Post by sentinel »

Since I've been a user of HN, I've seen numerous posts and stories about (successful) start-ups.

However, most of those I have seen are based on some open-source, free or otherwise non-MS based languages, technologies and products. For example, there are a lot of web apps running on Ruby, Python or PHP, using cloud services offered by Amazon, Heroku or Google App Engine, using open source databases, and a lot of mobile applications aimed at iPhone/Android (although, it's true, MS has no real mobile edge anymore), etc.

The thing is I don't really hear (or think) of Microsoft when I hear about start-ups. No start-up comes up and says it's using MS SQL Server, or Microsoft Cloud Services...or C#.

What's the deal with this? Is it just me, or is it true? Are there any start-ups that do use Microsoft products or languages? Any example cases?

If this is true, how dangerous would this be in the long term for Microsoft? And what recommendations would there be for people proficient with MS, but who want to begin a start-up.

I'm curious about what you think. Cheers!

TL;DR: I don't hear of any MS based start-ups. Why?

Re: Ask HN: (No) Microsoft based start-ups?

#4

Post by byoung2 »

For a lot of startups, I would assume that free is better than paid. Even for those willing to pay for Microsoft products, the pricing is confusing: http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/2008/en/us/pricing.aspx http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/pricing.asp...

I have also found Windows programmers on average to be more expensive than LAMP developers, which is an important concern as you look to build a startup's team.

I'm not so much concerned with vendor lock-in so much as I would be concerned with the support of an open source community. The free resources and tools available for PHP, Python, Ruby, etc., are hard to beat. I'm not sure if the same breadth of resources exist for Windows.

Re: Ask HN: (No) Microsoft based start-ups?

#5

Post by daleharvey »

stackoverflow is a startup based on microsoft tech, jeff atwood has had various posts which I cant seem to find right now, sometimes complaining about the cost of licenses, sometimes giving microsoft props

I avoid the microsoft stack because I believe in the massive advantages open source brings, and because its better (imho).

Re: Ask HN: (No) Microsoft based start-ups?

#8

Post by jeremymcanally »

The licensing costs are somewhat hefty upfront and get exponentially so as your business grows. So the decision (I think) isn't necessarily "Oh it's free now let's do it," it's closer to "OK, this is costly now, and may be worth it now, but down the road, as we scale in people and the app in size, the money isn't justifiable."

Re: Ask HN: (No) Microsoft based start-ups?

#9

Post by noodle »

as it has already been mentioned -- having to pay license fees means ramen profitable is even further away for your average, small bootstrapped startup.

there are some good startups based on the MS stack, but they're generally startups done by people with money, connections, or extensive experience in the MS stack.

Re: Ask HN: (No) Microsoft based start-ups?

#10

Post by markstahler »

gspyrou wrote: post #3

Perhaps its not trendy enough :)! http://www.microsoft.com/bizspark/Connect.aspx

With BizSpark startups dont have to pay any licensing costs for some time. I also think that licensing is discounted when you become profitable.

BizSpark aside, I think hosting costs/maintenance is much more. For a $20 512 Linode it would cost a hell of a lot more to run MVC.NET + MSSQL.

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