Does BizSpark preclude you from accepting funding elsewhere?
I am going to embark very soon on a software venture (have been a consultant and employee up until now).
I see advantages in signing up for Microsoft's BizSpark.
However, I wonder if doing so would preclude me from accepting funding from some equity-esque arrangements potentially available via crowdfunding.
I know BizSpark's legal agreement probably spells this out, but it's about a gazillion pages long, so I'm hoping somebody here has existing knowledge of this so I don't have to spend a lot of time reading legalese.
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I'd like to reinforce what MarkJ said. As an entrepreneur, you're likely to be expected to be able to decipher fairly large and sophisticated legalese, and fairly quickly, on your own. – Blueberryfields 11 years ago
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The agreement is NOT that long and you should read it if you are considering it. – Tim J 11 years ago
2 Answers
The eligibility requirements are stated in Annex D (the last page of the agreement), which simply states that:
Except for locales listed in the table below, the Startup must have
revenue less than one million dollars ($1,000,000) annually. If the
Startup’s place of business is not listed below then the Startup must
have revenue of less than one million dollars annually:
Annual revenue must be less than:
China
$750,000
Korea, Malaysia, Poland, Russia, Spain, Ukraine
$500,000
Egypt, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam
$250,000
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I would also add that Microsoft and Bizspark have related programs to encourage visibility for marketing and fund raising. – Tim J 11 years ago
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I did notice that when I applied for BizSpark, there was a checkbox re: whether I would be open to investors; is that what you mean by the related program for fund raising? – B. Clay Shannon 11 years ago
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@ClayShannon: TimJ doesn't get notified unless you put `@TimJ` somewhere in your comment, as I have done here to notify you. Some notifications do occur automatically (I got notified because you posted a comment below my answer), but not this one. – Robert Harvey 11 years ago
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@RobertHarvey: thanks, I didn't know that (semi-obviously) – B. Clay Shannon 11 years ago
Funding doesn't forbid you from being in the program. The program doesn't forbid you from getting funding. In fact, it's been my experience that getting into the program and using low cost and free development tools makes it easier for you to put any funding you get towards your startup in other ways, like growing traction, ramping up employee numbers. I'm Douglas Crets, social media strategist for BizSpark.
