[gacba]

Had a negative experience with MS recently. They were very interested in licensing some code for use in bing and we did a number of presentations to the top of the hierarchy which was extremely time consuming. In the end there was radio silence so we followed up and didn't hear back, then things were delayed multiple times on their end. It seemed highly unprofessional of the business development lead to string us along because it burns a bridge for future partnership while only gaining a delay of deployment on a competing property.

None of this sounds peculiar for a company as large as Microsoft. The near-glacial timescales that exist for project management decisions can be daunting for the unfamiliar or unaware. But glad you didn't hand over the keys without a contract. Lessons learned.

[rbanffy]

The problem is not the near-glacial timeframes. It's using you to gather requirements and knowledge and to avoid pitfalls and then, after sucking you dry, building internally.

That's simply not ethical.

(burn, karma, burn)

[ojilles]

Not working for MS, etc. But I wonder if this is intentional. I'm sure this is how it can come across to a startup, but for Big Inc. I doubt they setup these meetings to "outsource" product management work...

[earl]

This is, at least historically, a well known MS tactic, for which they have been sued.

[retube]

This. Totally normal for any large firm. And yes, there are no guarantees at the end of it.