Guest writer Lopa Patel, writes about our Female Hero of the Month - Bindi Karia.

How many technology startups have you been involved with? One, maybe two? How about 600, in just six months! This is the astonishing feat that Asian woman Bindi Karia, VC/Emerging Business lead for Microsoft UK, has achieved since the launch of the company's UK BizSpark program in November 2008. Karia attributes her success in the field to being "in the right place at the right time", although she acknowledges that working for the leading software company in the world helps.

Thirteen years in the UK, Karia's formative years were spent in Canada leading the kind of diaspora life familiar to most Asians although she says it gave her the "global outlook" necessary for her current role. Now based in the UK, she loves London for being geographically central to her uncles in Kenya, where one runs a leading advertising agency, and her family in Canada. But life wasn't always so easy.

Her work as a Senior Business Analyst at Data Monitor was followed by a stint as a Management Consultant at Coopers and Lybrand that then became PWC. Redundancy from PWC came as a major blow, one that she was careful to hide from her family for as long as possible. "I think the thing about redundancy is not to take it personally. It is not about you, it is about the role within the organisation. So have some confidence in yourself and look to your network for support".
This combination of self-confidence, resilience and family support allowed her to bounce back. She spent a while freelancing as a management consultant, using the skills set acquired at Coopers (PWC) and then took the plunge and joined one of her clients, Trayport, a successful commodities trading technology start-up. This was followed by a spell as Associate Director in Interregnum, a UK-based Technology Merchant Bank before the dot.com crash saw many such remits disappear completely. She claims to have had many "ups and downs" in her career the result being that she is now more "focussed on what she wants to do next".

Karia started working at Microsoft four and a half years ago, initially as a Business Productivity Advisor, where she was responsible for managing relationships with business decision-makers in the UK Financial Services Sector. For the past year and a half she's been a member of Microsoft's UK Emerging Business Team, part of a global team founded in Silicon Valley that is responsible for the company's foray into supporting technology led startups.

Microsoft BizSpark

The Bizspark venture started in the USA in 2001 but only lately in Europe and the UK. The company's emerging business venture comprises two main programs: BizSpark for startups and Accelerator for high-potential early-stage companies. Karia is keen to stress that Microsoft does not provide funding for startups, nor does it invest or take a stake in the businesses enrolled in its programs.

"Microsoft BizSpark is a global program designed to accelerate the success of early stage startups. It provides entrepreneurs access to Microsoft development tools and licenses of server products like Windows Server® and SQL Server®, with no upfront costs. Startups also receive support from Microsoft and Network Partners who can provide guidance, mentorship and resources," says Karia of the program. "By virtue of their participation in the program, startups can also gain visibility with potential investors, partners and customers."

To be eligible for the program, startups need to be less than 3 years old with a turnover under US $1 million, privately held and actively engaged in development of a software-based product or service. For access to production license rights, startups must also be developing a "software as a service" (SaaS) solution, on any platform including open source, to be delivered over the Internet.

There is no upfront fee to enrol in the program but startups are expected to start paying for the software they use from year four onwards and pay $100US at the end of year three. They may also have to pay for a MSDN (Microsoft Developer Network) Premium subscription licence - which can be substantial - after the third year. Enrolment is through Microsoft's network partners and the program is currently being offered in Chinese, English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish and Russian.

12,000 startups have enrolled into the BizSpark program to date (May 2009) of which 1,300 are in Europe including 600 startups from the UK. It is too early to ascertain the success of the program, only seven months into the rollout in the UK, but critics argue that this is just Microsoft's way of locking customers into their software products.

Microsoft Accelerator Program

In addition to the standard partner programmes Microsoft also offers the startups Accelerator programme, where they work more closely with a small group of high-potential start-up and early-stage partners on both their technology and business plans. Karia advised that there are currently 17 companies in Accelerator program.

Be Polite, Be Persistent

Enrolment onto the Bizspark program seems to straightforward enough, however, the Accelerator program is quite different. Given the small VC/Emerging Business team, it is true that entrepreneurs will need additional skills to get "past the door". Karia ruefully admits to receiving more emails than she can deal with and advises Accelerator participants to "be polite and persistent" to get noticed. A "warm introduction" through a trusted network partner is the quickest route although she does advise "networking your contacts" at the initial stage may also prove a useful technique.

Once through the door, Accelerator participants will need all the tools of the trade to get acceptance: an elevator pitch, a sound business plan, venture capital backing or angel investment, a great management team and working beta sites as well a large and growing market sector. Karia, who spends 80% of her time on startups and 20% working with venture capitalists, is keen on VC-backed businesses for the Accelerator program and claims that there is no shortage of female-led technology businesses.

Among her mentors are senior female executives at Microsoft, at VC funds and at executive women's networks. She finds that there is "no problem being female in the technology industry" even when working in a male-dominated business team, although she does acknowledge that the industry is failing to attract young female technologists and software engineers. She cites Microsoft's rollout of the 'Digigirlz' program in the UK as a great example of how this trend can be reversed. 'Digigirlz' started in the USA, giving high school girls the opportunity to learn about careers in technology, connect with Microsoft employees, and participate in hands-on computer and technology workshops.

Asians should not be afraid of failure

When speaking at the London Business School Women Entrepreneurs seminar earlier this month, Karia mentioned the high failure rate among startups. Today, she's keen to highlight that this 'fear of failure' should not deter entrepreneurs, particularly among the Asian community. "Most Asians came to Britain with very little money. When I came to live here from Canada, I had only $300 Canadian dollars. So to do well, you have to take risks. Fear of failure should not be a deterrent. The Asian culture is very supportive of entrepreneurship and if you should fail, then you should wear the scars well".

Karia certainly wears her scars well. Doe-eyed but with a glint of steel in her dark eyes, she exudes confidence which has proved to be a major asset in her professional life and a stumbling block in her personal life. Choosing to remain single for now, she admits to being an adrenaline junkie and adventure sports enthusiast. She's climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and Macchu Picchu and enjoys skiing and marathons, the most recent being the London Marathon where she not only ran the course, but also managed to raise a considerable sum of money for the NSPCC charity.

Whether her enthusiasm for startups can yield the same kind of return for Microsoft remains to be seen.

Lopa Patel is an exceptional entrepreneurial businesswoman and an inspirational leader with extensive experience in the creation, direction and successful development of businesses within the 'New Media' sector. Founder and CEO of RedHotcurry, she has an outstanding record of achievement that has been recognised throughout the industry via numerous accolades including the 'Windrush Award' (Outstanding Champion for the Internet & Technology category), the Silver 'Smart' Award (Software Development) and was voted 'Asian Woman of the Year' in 2005 (Media).