Microsoft Wins By Thinking Like A Start-Up

Microsoft is regaining attention by taking a few cues from younger and hungrier tech companies.

By the Dave Partners Team

Microsoft is one of the oldest and most respected companies in the tech industry. But they’re also not a company that most people associate with exciting new gadgets. In contrast to their wild, rule-breaking start-up brothers, Microsoft is mostly known for providing the respectable old standbys: You probably couldn’t get through a work week without Microsoft Word or PowerPoint, but you’re not likely to get excited about using them, either.

Yet all of that is changing, at least if you go by the buzz coming from Microsoft’s Build 2015 conference. Microsoft is leaning hard into innovation, and it’s actually working out — their augmented-reality system, the HoloLens, has been getting massive buzz for months.

Microsoft is poised to become the center of attention again — and to dominate our conversation about tech. And they’ve done it by thinking like a start-up.

Once you’ve already done something great, it’s easy to sit back, get over-confident, and assume that the same techniques will continue to bring about the same successes. Yet the rise of the start-up company has made it impossible for older, more established companies to do that.

Start-ups have brought an attitude of hunger and innovation to the table; they work hard, dream big, and try risky new things, hoping to become legendary. In order to keep up, companies like Microsoft have to at least attempt similarly wild and daring moves, and bring eye-popping new tech to the table.

This is proof — if you needed it — that start-ups and their culture of innovation benefit all of us. By changing the rules, they’re pressuring even larger and more established companies to take big risks, and deliver more and better technology, making the world a more exciting place to live.

Dave Partners is a boutique headhunting firm exclusively for the top venture-backed technology companies. We find the top 1% of A+ talent for our clients. To learn more, contact us or visit us online.

This post originally appeared on the Dave Partners blog.