My job at Microsoft is to help startups be successful by building a partnership with Microsoft. Today at Joel on Software a contributor wrote about his experience as a one person startup and how Microsoft helped him get going. Here is a snippet from his story;

Now I'm looking back on how I started off. I needed Visual Studio and Microsoft Office. Plus I needed old versions of Office and several localized versions of Office for testing. At the time Virtual PC wasn't free. I couldn't afford to keep buying boxed package software all the time.

Fortunately I signed up for Microsoft Empower and for, I think, 300 USD got a full MSDN subscription. On top of that because of my Windows Marketplace listing I got a small, constant stream of customers. Over time my software product got mentioned in a Microsoft help file, which again gives me a constant stream of orders.

I generally feel that Microsoft helped me (a 1 person software band) succeed in so far as my software product is now the number one choice for a certain niche.

His story and the comments from readers prove that Microsoft really works hard to help startups, small ISVs, and developers from any size company, get what they need to be successful.

I wrote a blog a while ago "How to Partner with Microsoft" that explains many of the programs and resources available for free, and links to sign up. Here are just a few of the programs;

Get free software and support. The Empower Program for ISVs helps new software companies get software, consulting, and MSDN subscriptions for the low price of just $375. The software alone is worth over $10,000.

Join the ISV community. Microsoft has a special ISV Zone for software companies. Find partners, get leads, get beta software, and get involved in the community.

Microsoft Startup Zone. If you are a startup you should visit the Microsoft StartupZone. The StartupZone is managed by the Emerging Business Team which is focused on helping startups build a relationship with Microsoft.

Fully explore the Microsoft StartupZone site for further information on partner programs and developer resources.