Founders Hub helped AinoAid™ get started - how Microsoft supports early-stage startups

17 June, 2024

To grow, a start-up needs networks, skills, resources and technology. Our partner We Encourage, a Finnish startup that supports victims of intimate partner violence, has used Microsoft's Founders Hub to boost the launch of its AI-based service.

Start-ups employ tens of thousands of people in Finland and have a realistic chance of becoming one of the mainstays of the Finnish economy within this decade.

However, founding a successful start-up is a demanding path, where the founder is guaranteed to be challenged and face unexpected situations. In addition to perseverance, you often need versatile skills, networks and funding.

At Microsoft, their mission is to help people and organisations around the world succeed. To help startups take off, Microsoft is running a programme called the Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub.

"We want to help Finnish start-ups get from a promising idea to the next stage. The programme gives startups access to a wide range of Microsoft technologies that they can use to develop and test their own services and select the right solutions to build their business on," says Tarja Jernström, Director of Microsoft's Partner Business.

GPT-4, Azure, GitHub and much more in one place

The Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub gives startups the flexibility and ease to explore and experiment with a range of Microsoft technologies and AI models like GPT-4 in one place. The programme gives startups access to $150,000 worth of Azure cloud platform credits and licenses for Microsoft 365, GitHub, LinkedIn Premium and more. In addition, the development of AI, in particular the Azure AI service, which allows building products on top of AI models from Open AI, among others, has enabled many new startups to bring a new AI product to market quickly.

"The expert help of Founders Hub is particularly important for new software startups. Microsoft has a number of technologies at its disposal, so guidance on the most appropriate tools can prove invaluable for a startup," says Microsoft Partner Development Manager Veli Myllylä.

Through the programme, startups can get support from Microsoft engineers who can help them identify the most suitable technologies, reduce technology costs and improve the performance of their technology. The startup can also benefit from mentoring from successful startup entrepreneurs and investors, for example.

The Founders Hub also brings far-reaching benefits to founders in terms of ownership structure.

"At Founders Hub, we give startups relatively large credits for using our technologies, which reduces the need for startup funding in the early stages. This allows owners to retain a larger stake in the company, which can benefit them when funding is raised in the later stages of the startup when the valuation is higher. The future of a start-up can suffer if a lot of ownership has to be allocated at the seed stage to finance just the technological infrastructure," adds Myllylä.

We Encourage provides digital support for victims of intimate partner violence

One startup that has used Founders Hub is the Finnish company We Encourage.

We Encourage was born out of a desire to tackle a social problem, intimate partner violence. It is a form of violence that is usually difficult for partners to identify.

"When violence is committed by a loved one, one of the biggest barriers to seeking help is shame and possibly not knowing that you are actually a victim of violence in your own intimate relationship. It can be difficult to articulate your own situation, which makes it difficult to seek help and identify your own need for help," says Anna Juusela, founder and CEO of our project partner We Encourage.

As a solution, our partner We Encourage is developing a service called AinoAid™: a database of expert information on intimate partner violence and a chatbot using generative artificial intelligence, with whom anyone can discuss their situation and thoughts. With a comprehensive knowledge base, the trained chatbot will tailor its answers to the situation of each enquirer. Help is available wherever and whenever you need it, safely and free of charge.

Many survivors even say that they would prefer to get information from a chatbot: the threshold to discuss their situation with a human is often high.

Microsoft engineers to help a startup

"I first heard about Founders Hub at Slush. And what a stroke of luck it was: it has been very useful for us," says Juusela.

The programme has enabled the We Encourage team to develop the database and its integration with Azure and GPT Turbo 3.5-based chatbots in a flexible way, experimenting with different features.

"We have been able to make the first versions of the service in Founders Hub and test the suitability of different solutions for us. In addition, we have received really good advice and help with our problems from our contacts. Microsoft team members in several countries around the world have gone to great lengths to find the right people in-house to solve our development issues. The experts have done a great job giving up their time for us," he says.

AinoAid™ has reached a stage in its development where the first version of the service has already been released and is open to users. Further development is well underway, including improvements based on user data and feedback, and the addition of new areas to the database that are not yet covered by the service. The team also has a roadmap for new features to guide the future development of the service.

AinoAid™ has also been boosted in its scaling up by the European Union's Improve project, which aims to improve the situation of victims of intimate partner violence across Europe. Thanks to the project, AinoAid™ will be launched in 2024 in Germany, Austria, France and Spain, in addition to Finland. The advantage of the project funding for the startup is that it will accelerate the development of the service, and once the project is completed, the company will continue and expand the service.

"Overall, I have been very impressed by Microsoft's partner-centric approach, which sets it apart from other players. The people at Microsoft have really put in the effort for us and found new ways of working to help us achieve We Encourage's mission and accelerate our company's success," concludes Ulla Koivukoski, Director of Ecosystem and Partnerships at We Encourage.