Recent Discussions
Business verification auto failed after 5 minutes, can not find the founders hub or support in Azure
Hi team, Would really appreciate your help here 🙏 We applied for Microsoft for Startups Level 2 and my business verification was auto rejected. I entered my Australian Business Number (ABN). The form asked for a 21 character alphanumeric entry, which doesn't match Australia's standard 11 digit format. I adjusted my entry to fit by adding 0's at the start. Now it is telling me that I will move to pay as you go after the inital level of credits expire. One of the reasons I've paid to get a business registered was so we could use level 2 credits to keep building. I have been looking for hours but can not find any way to lodge a ticket or speak to someone. I messages Azure support on X and they said they can not help. Does anyone have any guidance here? It would be very much appreciated. Best regards, JakeUnable to access Founders Hub portal - M365 benefit redemption blocked
I am an approved Founders Hub member with an active $1,000 Azure credit and I am unable to access the Founders Hub portal or redeem my Microsoft 365 Business Premium benefit. I have already contacted Azure Billing Support regarding this issue, but I believe this falls under your team's remit rather than billing, so I am reaching out directly. The issues I am experiencing: 1. portal.startups.microsoft.com/login only offers a "Log in with LinkedIn" option — my Founders Hub account is not linked to LinkedIn, so this does not work for me. 2. Clicking "Log in with your Microsoft account here" redirects me to portal.startups.microsoft.com/signup, which is the new user signup page — not a login page. 3. Navigating directly to portal.startups.microsoft.com also lands on the signup page with no way to manually enter my Microsoft account email. All roads lead back to the same circular loop with no resolution. My Founders Hub account is registered under a gmail not my custom domain. I am fully signed into the Azure Portal (portal.azure.com) with this account and can confirm my Azure credit is active. What I need help with: - Accessing my existing Founders Hub account - Redeeming the Microsoft 365 Business Premium benefit - Setting up a Microsoft 365 tenant so I can use Teams under my custom domain Please advise on how to proceed.
Startup credits expired silently — GPT-5.5 charges — is there any path to resolution?
I've been in the Microsoft for Startups program since August 2025. My €5,000 credits expired on April 12 with no notification. I checked my entire mailbox and there is nothing from Microsoft about it. On April 27, I deployed GPT-5.5 on Foundry — two days after Microsoft released it — still believing I was covered. I found out on April 29 by checking my own consumption data and shut everything down immediately. I launched my AI startup in production two weeks ago. The invoice for April hasn't arrived yet but I estimate it at €4,000–5,000. This could end my company. I've been through two levels of billing support and both say they cannot adjust charges. I've now escalated to the support manager. My question: has anyone been through this and found a path to resolution? And does anyone have a contact at Microsoft for Startups with actual decision-making authority? I'm not looking to debate the policy. I'm looking for a human at Microsoft who understands what "startup" means.No Decision After 7 Working Days + Portal Loop Issue – Rain Stella Technology
Hi Microsoft for Startups Community & Team, I am following up on my Microsoft for Startups application submitted on behalf of Rain Stella Technology, and would also like to flag a portal issue I experienced after the application was submitted. --- Application Status --- I received a confirmation email acknowledging receipt of my application, however it has now been 7 working days with no further communication — no approval, no decline, and no request for additional information. According to Microsoft's own guidelines, applications are typically reviewed within 3 business days. We are now more than double that timeframe with no update. Application Details: • Applicant Name: Khalid Adine • Startup Name: Rain Stella Technology • Status: Receipt confirmation received, no decision communicated since • Days Elapsed: 7 working days --- Portal Issue --- During and after submitting my application, I encountered a frustrating portal bug where, instead of displaying a confirmation screen or application status, the portal kept redirecting me back to the "Apply Now" screen — as if my submission had not been recorded. I received the receipt confirmation email, which confirmed the application went through, but the portal still does not reflect any application status. This caused significant confusion, and I wanted to flag it in case it is a widely known issue affecting other applicants. I also attempted to contact support via email (email address removed for privacy reasons), but the address returned a bounce error, leaving the forum and contact form as my only available channels. --- My Requests --- 1. Can someone from the team confirm the current status of our application? 2. Is any additional information or documentation required from our side? 3. Can the portal loop bug be investigated and fixed for other applicants facing the same issue? 4. What is the correct and currently working support email or channel for urgent queries? We are actively building our product and are eager to move forward with the program. Any update would be sincerely appreciated. Thank you for your time and support. Khalid Adine Founder, Rain Stella Technology
Azure credit and Azure Portal successful, but login to Startups Portal fails
Hello I have successfully registered for the Microsoft for Startups basic offering using a new Microsoft Account [1]. Using my Microsoft account, I can log into the Azure Portal successfully and can see my "Azure for Startups" subscription with free credit. However, when I try to log into the Microsoft for Startups Portal using LinkedIn I see error "No user found. Please sign up or try a different LinkedIn account". Initially I though this is because my Primary LinkedIn email address is not the same as the email address of my Microsoft Account [1] In LinkedIn, I changed my Primary email address to my Microsoft Account email address. Again I tried again to log into the Microsoft for Startups Portal using LinkedIn - same error as before. I created a new LinkedIn account for using my new Microsoft Account email address - same error as before. Please can someone help?
Unable to see Azure credits for verified startup business
TL;DR: Business verification only completed a few weeks ago (Feb 2026), can't see Azure for Startup credits anywhere on my account, would like to activate my $5000 credits and put them to use building my application which will leverage Azure in a number of ways. Help needed! Details: I have an early stage startup, pre-money, pre-product. Building a native Microsoft/Windows 11 application for AI data analysis with cloud hosted private LLMs. I signed up for a business M365 account back in September 2025 which was fine for my M365 Office Suite access (OneDrive, OneNote, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint), however my business verification ran into mysterious obstacles (it is a Delaware C Corp, incorporated in 2025), so I couldn't setup my corporate developer accounts. Fast forward to February 2026, and I finally push through the business verification steps, and am now working full time on my business (as of late January 2026). I am "in" the Azure for Startups program, but I can't access this "Founders Hub" area that I'm reading about, and I can't see in my Azure Billing/Invoicing area anything other than my corporate credit card for payments -- no evidence of $1000 or $5000 startup credits for Azure. What am I missing? What did I do wrong? Is there any way I can activate these now that I'm actually in a position where I need them, now that I have my business verified with Microsoft? Thank you in advance for any assistance anyone can provide on this point!
Founders Hub Application Blocked - LinkedIn Linked to Previous Startup Account
Hello Microsoft Community, I'm hoping someone here might be able to offer some guidance or point me in the right direction regarding an issue I'm facing with a Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub application. I recently applied for the Founders Hub program for my new startup using my LinkedIn profile as required. My application was rejected with the reason given: "your startup has already been accepted into Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub." I believe this happened because my LinkedIn profile is still associated with a previous startup I founded and exited several years ago. That previous membership was tied to an old email address that I no longer have access to. It seems this persistent link between my LinkedIn profile and my old startup is preventing my application my new startup from being processed based on its own merits. I'm unable to submit a support request through the official Founders Hub channel as I'm consistently redirected to funding application page. Does anyone in the community have experience with this specific type of identity conflict? Is there a particular team or escalation path within Microsoft for Startups that handles these kinds of legacy account association issues for the Founders Hub, especially when standard support channels might be slow or difficult for unique cases like this? Any advice or pointers on how best to get this resolved would be greatly appreciated, as I'm currently blocked from proceeding with the Founders Hub for my new venture. Thank you for your time and help!African Startups: Sanctions and Verification Processes
Hello everyone, I'm interested in starting a discussion about the verification process for African startups on Microsoft for Startups. Have any of you encountered sanctions or issues with verification? I'm curious to know if there are specific requirements or processes that African startups need to follow to get verified. Are there any additional steps or documentation needed? Let's share our experiences and insights to help each other navigate this process. Thanks
Who is in chage of MS quantum technology in Europe and especially in Scandinavia(Denmark + Sweden)?
I am a microsoft partner here in Denmark and a computer scientist who has been working with quantum technology for some years. I have been using the MS quantum computer online for about 6 years, but on this portal there is no mention of it! So who is charge here? In Denmark ,In Sweden , in the EU ? Do I have to go to the USA to find someone who knows something? Scott Hill M.Sc.
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