We’re currently in the fifth wave of technology evolution – an era driven by data and AI, which are accelerating the number of applications that can disrupt every industry due to the timely availability of actionable data-driven insights.

The world's financial markets now recognize that unless businesses do something good for this planet, that this planet may not exist – and that there are investable companies that can be part of the solution.

We are balancing between the challenges of economic damage versus potential public health damage. This will define our generation depending on how we deal with it and how agile we can be. I think it’s clear that innovation will come out of necessity.

The good news is that entrepreneurs can lead us out of this period. Entrepreneurs are the ones who create value and jobs in our economy. This is your opportunity as an entrepreneur right now to take the big risks. This is your time.

The experience of finding go-to-market fit is like going from paddling to surfing. You are burning a huge amount of energy to go a very short distance. On the other hand, when you catch the wave, what you feel is momentum.

As a global startup, you have to think about how the world is changing today... It’s important to think how trillion-dollar industries are digitally transforming themselves because of Covid-19. You need to think about how you can ride these waves of change.

I often tell entrepreneurs what they really need is the right amount of money from the right VCs for the right business plan. You need to unpack each of those elements. Don’t raise more money than you need.

Investors don't like surprises. They don't want to learn something from someone else that they should have learned directly from the entrepreneur. My advice is to always be transparent. Building trust and transparency starts with setting expectations.

I like to get to know the founding team anywhere from 12 to 24 months before actually investing. Building that relationship over time, getting to know each other, and seeing the progress, that makes things much easier when the time is right to invest.

We found that diversity drives innovation. You need a broad range of voices and perspectives to chip away at the biases that still exist in the workforce. And that will make your products even better.

Some people are worried that when a corporate investor comes in, they will start controlling your roadmap. When I ran my startup, I didn’t find that. Nobody controlled our roadmap or asked us to do things unnatural to us. They are not there to make sure you only succeed for them...

Using technology to solve global problem is a factor in our investment decisions. We do focus on areas that relate to sustainability and community. We have a focused area on healthcare. We have seen that a lot of our companies have been useful in the Covid-19 situation.

I’ve always invested in people who have a background in disruptive technology. I like to identify the most talented people with the most relevant experience. That is always the starting point. Once you have the right leadership, then you can build a team around those people.

As a startup, you want access to capital as well as to investors who can help you with follow-on rounds, with hiring, and with access to management talent. And you also want the strategic advantage of having investors who really understand your space and have experience developing technology and products.

If your business is a technology-born business, then you are in good hands. The disruption is in front of us. The question is how do you convert it into opportunity? If you chose to disrupt, if you chose to scale up, this is your day. This is the time to prioritize. This is what will make you successful on this bumpy ride.

Telemedicine and telepathology are here to stay in a post-Covid world. It’s clear that patients have wanted this to happen. We have gone from near zero telemedicine usage at the beginning of the year to now, where 40% of our encounters are completed with telemedicine.

Even though, with corporate venture capital, you are dealing with big companies, it always comes down to the people and the personal relationships you build. Finding the right person within the corporation you want to work with makes a big difference.

Diversity has to be part of your culture and process. Creating a diverse team from the beginning will create a better product. At Microsoft, the more diverse teams we have working on our solutions, the better our products have been.