Technology · 3 views
The Garage never should have existed: Why Microsoft’s grassroots innovation lab worked for so long
Microsoft Garage co-founder Quinn Hawkins explains how the employee innovation program outlasted bigger, better-funded efforts inside Microsoft for 17 years, as the company winds it down.
AI Summary
Microsoft Garage co‑founder Quinn Hawkins says the employee‑innovation program survived longer than larger, better‑funded Microsoft initiatives, lasting 17 years before the company began winding it down. He attributes the program’s durability to four strategic choices, notably supporting teams that had already built projects instead of merely voting on ideas, and requiring business groups to fund their own events. These practices, he argues, helped the grassroots lab persist despite internal competition.
AI summaries can be wrong sometimes—always verify important details using the source article.
How AI & Automation are usedMore from Technology
Continue reading recent Technology coverage
- TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026 roundtables: Go deeper on the challenges founders are solving right nowContinue reading
- 7 iPhone Duo Apps That Take Full Advantage of the New Foldable PhoneContinue reading
- Carta and NewView partner, hoping to entice more startups to let employees sell shares earlyContinue reading
- From Toast to Bessemer: Who founders will hear from at TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026Continue reading
Support HappeningNow
Independent AI-powered news analysis is reader-supported. Your contribution helps cover infrastructure, summaries, and continued platform development.
Support HappeningNow