During one of our many pitches to investors we heard the phrase: "Microsoft has no startup DNA". The basic interpretation is that if you are an entrepreneur coming out of Microsoft you'll have a hard time convincing investors that you can think and execute in a startup environment.
Recently, I've met with another ex-Microsoft senior exec, that told me he was surprised at how much of a liability having spent so much time at Microsoft has become.
What do I have to say about this?
Yes, it is true. Microsoft has no startup DNA. Not only the company as a whole is uncapable of fostering a startup mentality, but also 99% of the people working at Microsoft have no startup DNA. They would not be able to be entrepreneurs and to create a business from scratch.
Now, there are 1% of those (which is a lot on a 70,000-employee company) that do have it. Most of them are still fighting the system from the inside. Stressing themselves out at why they can't get anything done. But a small amount of them don't put up with that and quit and create their own companies, or join very early stage startups.
So, dear investor, don't tell me I have no startup DNA. Odds are that I have more than you do, because most investors on this region got their fortune from Microsoft, Boeing, Amazon or Real Networks, and they really never founded any company.
I'm the Co-founder & CTO of 
