What are the requirements to qualify for different benefit levels?
In addition to meeting all eligibility criteria, the requirements for qualification to different program benefit levels for both applicants and in-program startups are outlined below:
Level 2 - Develop
Level 3 - Grow
Level 4 - Scale
You should be able to see the requirements relevant to your startup from the Home page in Founders Hub:
Our team reviews every application and evaluates how well each company meets the Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub eligibility guidelines and level requirements. There are many reasons why we might be unable to approve an application, including:
If you believe your startup meets the criteria and you'd like to provide additional information to be reviewed, please contact us.
How do I request additional benefits?
Once your startup meets the necessary criteria to qualify for more benefits, you can request additional benefits by clicking ‘Submit Request’ in the ‘Request more Benefits’ section of the Home page. Clicking 'Submit request’ in the confirmation modal will queue a request for our team to review your eligibility and approve or deny your request.
If your request is denied, you will be able to modify any information about your startup that may have disqualified you and submit another request for additional benefits. You can see your request history in the ‘Get more’ tab on the Benefits page.
How do I verify my startup's incorporation status?
Once you have provided a startup name, address, and toggled ‘My business is incorporated or is a legal entity’, you will be able to initiate a business verification request through the Home or Settings pages by clicking the ‘Verify Business’ button. The business verification validates legally registered and active entities including but not limited to LLC and corporation.
This will bring up a confirmation modal where you can review information provided before finalizing your request:
You will be able to see the status of your verification request on the Home or Settings pages.
If our team is unable to verify your incorporation status using the information provided, you will have to provide additional information. To do so, click ‘Re-verify Business’ in the Home or Settings page to bring up an additional screen where you can upload relevant documentation:
The screen will ask you to select a document type to upload and prompt you to attach the document. Document types include:
If we are still unable to verify your information after four rounds of document review, you will have to connect with our support team for assistance by submitting a support request.
How do I verify my startup's domain?
You can only verify your startup’s domain after you have already verified your startup’s incorporation status. Once you have verified your incorporation status and provided a website for your startup, you will be able to initiate an incorporation verification request through the Home or Settings pages by clicking the ‘Verify Domain’ button:
This will bring up a confirmation modal where you can review information provided before finalizing your request:
You will be able to see the status of your verification request on the Home or Settings pages.
If our team is unable to verify your domain using the information provided, you will have to provide additional information. To do so, click ‘Re-verify Domain’ in the Home or Settings page to bring up an additional screen where you can upload relevant documentation.
The screen will ask you to select a document type to upload and prompt you to attach the document. Document types include:
If we are still unable to verify your information after four rounds of document review, you will have to connect with our support team for assistance by submitting a support request.
Why did my verification status change?
If you change any information about your startup that was used to verify either your incorporation or your domain, you will have to re-verify your startup’s information.
When modifying any information used for verifications in the Settings page, you will see a screen asking you to confirm these changes:
Why is my Azure sponsorship consumption incorrect or missing?
We aim to track and update your Azure sponsorship consumption metrics daily, but there are several situations where we might not be able to do so:
In the cases above, it may take a few days for Founders Hub to reflect accurate consumption data.
You can always access your Azure Sponsorships Portal for current sponsorship balance and usage. The data is refreshed every 15 minutes for the most up-to-date information.
If your consumption information is missing or inaccurate for over a week, please connect with our support team for assistance by submitting a support request.
