Don Dodge, part of Microsoft’s high tech dumpster diving team, is a guy that you a) want to know and b) want to read.
In particular, this latest entry about the history of Napster version one dot oh.
This snip gives you a clue as to an excellent post:
“Never start a business focused on solving a big company’s problem. They don’t know they have a problem…and they are probably right. That is how they got to be so big in the first place. The record labels didn’t know they had a digital distribution problem and were not interested in our solution to it.”
This is very nice way of telling you to avoid coming into my office with “Microsoft will buy us” as your lead strategy. They might, just don’t lead with it. Read the whole thing.
Oh, the dumpster diving team comment. Done laughing? Good. These are some seriously important people that you might want to learn about as you think up that great zillion dollar business. Don is on the team that, slightly more officially, is known as the Emerging Business Team.
You can read about them at http://www.microsoft.com/startups and find the full list of technologies that MS wants to get out of the labs and into your hands.
When Don sent out his note about this, the last paragraph was pretty telling:
“Please contact me directly if you would like more details. As part of my role in the Emerging Business Team I will be taking on responsibility for making deals for these technologies. Terms are flexible. Exclusive, non-exclusive, and exclusive for “field of use” licenses are available. Payment can be in the form of cash, royalties, or equity.”
Yep. The words Microsoft and flexible in the same sentence. See, buffalo can skate and you should pack a warm coat when heading to hell, it’s now frozen over.
On a deadly serious note, check this stuff out and contact Don. He’s new to MS, has years of experience at all levels of business and is a genuinely nice guy.
Hey Rick, Those are very high class dumpsters on Sand Hill Road. I will go wherever I have to go to find The Next Big Thing.
http://dondodge.typepad.com/the_next_big_thing/
Thanks for the humor...you really made me laugh, and also for the compliments.
Posted by: DonDodge | October 04, 2005 at 17:55