Founders Hub: LinkedIn Verification BadRequest (Conflict) & Startup Portal Login Loop

Hello Luis,

Greetings! Thanks for raising this question in Q&A forum.

The issues you're facing the LinkedIn verification "BadRequest (Conflict)" error and the Founders Hub portal login loop — are typically caused by a duplicate or conflicting LinkedIn account association already stored in the backend for your Founders Hub profile. This means your LinkedIn identity may have been partially linked before, creating a conflict that prevents a fresh connection. The login loop is often a session or account mismatch where the portal doesn't fully recognize your registered account.

Here's how you can try to resolve this step by step:

For the LinkedIn Verification Error:

1. Go to your LinkedIn account settings and revoke/disconnect any existing Microsoft or Azure app permissions. You can do this at: LinkedIn → Settings → Data Privacy → Other Applications → Permitted Services, and remove any Microsoft-related apps listed there.

Clear your browser cache and cookies completely, then try the LinkedIn verification again in a fresh InPrivate/Incognito window.

Make sure the LinkedIn account you're connecting is a personal LinkedIn profile (not a company page) and that it matches the same email used in your Founders Hub application.

If the conflict persists, it's likely a backend duplicate record issue that needs manual intervention from the Founders Hub team.

For the Portal Login Loop:

Make sure you're signing in at portal.startups.microsoft.com using the exact Microsoft account (email) you used when you originally applied for Founders Hub — even a slight mismatch causes a silent redirect loop.

Try signing out of all Microsoft accounts in your browser, then sign in fresh with just that one account.

If the loop continues, try a different device or browser entirely.

To escalate this directly to the Founders Hub team (since the portal is inaccessible):

Use the Microsoft for Startups contact form here: https://startups.microsoft.com/en-us/contact/

You can also reach them via the official Microsoft for Startups Twitter/X handle: @MSFTStartups — explain your situation briefly and ask for a support escalation.

Alternatively, email ms4s@microsoft.com (the Microsoft for Startups team inbox) with your registered email, a description of both issues, and mention the "BadRequest (Conflict)" error — this helps them identify the backend record quickly.

Since this appears to be a backend database conflict, the Founders Hub engineering team will need to manually clear the duplicate LinkedIn association on their side. The steps above should help you reach them through an alternate channel while your portal access is being restored.

If this answer helps you kindly accept the answer which will help others who have similar questions.

Best Regards,

Jerald Felix.