Entrepreneurship Resources

Contrary to popular belief there is a large support system for Berkeley entrepreneurs. Unfortunately, not everyone knows about it. We have a page on our blog and some links along the right side, but we wanted to highlight particular campus organizations, resources, and events that should be helpful for all Berkeley entrepreneurs. This may be an overwhelming amount of information, but each of these organizations could be the key that helps Berkeley students, alumni, or faculty create the next Apple Computer (Steve Wozniak, 1976), SUN Microsystems (Bill Joy, 1982), or Inktomi (Eric Brewer, Faculty).

Entrepreneurship Organizations

Haas Entrepreneurs Association
ST@B works with a number of other campus organizations both formally and informally to help our beloved entreprenurs. Haas Entrepreus Association (a.k.a Haas EA) is the largest entrepreneurship group on campus with over 300 members. It is an MBA focused group whose mission is to “to create and foster a dynamic entrepreneurial environment for its members by providing innovative opportunities, meeting forums, and resources.” This year they are expanding the club to include the larger Berkeley community, meaning undergraduates, graduate students, and alumni in business, engineering, and all disciplines. I am a member of the Haas EA planning committee and we regularly host Haas EA leaders at our ST@B events and leadership meetings. You can find membership information here. It costs $25 to join their mailing list and have discounted access to several annual events.

Haas Venture Fellows
The Haas Venture Fellows is a “select group of Haas MBA students who receive hands-on experience in the venture capital industry by undertaking project work for prominent Bay Area venture capital firms.” More relevant to you entrepreneurs out there, they run the HVF Pitch Lab which “provides entrepreneurs from the greater UC Berkeley community with the opportunity to practice their pitches and receive truly objective feedback on their ideas.” Entrepreneurs can book a 45 minute time slot where they pitch an experienced group of MBA students. While HVF is only open to a select few MBA students, the pitch lab is open to all Berkeley students. You can setup an appointment by e-mailing Craig Klemp or Kaan Ersu with “HVF Pitch Lab” in the subject line.

Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology
The Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology “equips engineers and scientists with the skills to lead, innovate, and commercialize technology in the global economy.” They offer an entrepreneurship certificate to undergraduate students and run a series of entrepreneurship focused courses in the industrial engineering department. They also host an annual Venture Lab competition. Every entrepreneur should also check out their weekly office hours with experienced venture capitalists, lawyers, and entrepreneurs.

Lester Center
The Lester Center, despite being located at the Haas School of Business, hosts a number of entrepreneurship events for the larger Berkeley community as well as supporting particular student groups like the Haas EA, Venture Fellows, B-Plan Competition, GSVC, etc. Their events include the Entrepreneurs forum and Best Practice Series, both discussed below. Like CET, they also host regular office hours with relevant experts.

Startup Incubators

Entrepreneurship Lab (Lester Center)
Located in the basement of the Bancroft Hotel, the Lab provides “provides an intense educational and operating environment where real companies formed by Berkeley students, alumni, faculty and researchers can rapidly work through their experimental phase, form and flourish. “ The lab provides office space and a general environment helpful to entrepreneurs. Most companies are winners or participants in one of the business plan competitions listed below. We wrote about one E-Lab company a few months ago. If you are interested in getting more information about the Lab or applying to receive space, please contact David Charron.

Venture Lab (CET)
The CET Venture Lab is a space in the Bechtel Engineering Center reserved for winners of the Venture Lab Prize, an annual contest held in the Fall Semester of each year. Not only do teams receive office space and a $12,000 grants, but also access to the CET network including venture capitalists, experienced entrepreneurs, and lawyers. If you are interested in joining the Venture Lab, you will have to wait until the next competition in Fall 2009

Below is a list of competitions, regular events, and entrepreneurship courses that are worth exploring.

Business Plan Competition

Berkeley Business Plan Competition
Global Social Venture Competition
Venture Lab Competition

Regularly Hosted Events

Entrepreneur Best Practice Series
Held twice a month by the Lester Center at Haas or Stanley Hall, these 2-hour seminars offer help to entrepreneurs searching for advice in fundraising, marketing, building a team, and numerous other topics.

Entrepreneurship Forum
Once a month, the Lester Center organizes a panel of experts on such topics as investing, current economic issues, and Prediction markets. The next event will held February 26th in Andersen Auditorium at Haas and is titled Earth, Wind & Fire: The Clean Tech Opportunity Today. Registration, although required, is free to students and faculty, and $25 for community members.

Entrepreneurship Round Table
This annual event held by the Entrepreneurs Association is an opportunity for students and practicing entrepreneurs to come together in an informal setting. It provides an excellent opportunity for students to meet fellow entrepreneurs who have had to face the common strategic, operational, and financial challenges that start-ups face. Details for the 2009 event can be found here.

Startup Mixers (ST@B)
ST@Bers get together about twice a semester in the basement of Blake’s on Telegraph with an experienced entrepreneur. There is always an excellent mix of students (both technical and not), experienced entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, lawyers, and randoms. 

Startup Wednesday
ST@B also holds semi-weekly meetups with students and entrepreneurs to talk through common issues and stay abreast on current activities. 

Hackathon (ST@B and CSUA)
The annual ST@B, CSUA hackathon is a 24-hour hacking celebration where teams of 4 techies hack without breaks or food! This year’s event was held February 13th-14th.

Courses

Engineering 198/298- Life as an Entrepreneur
IEOR 190A- Engineering Entrepreneurship
IEOR 190C- Web 2.0
L&S 5- Introduction to Entrepreneurship
CS 194- Ruby on Rails
CS 169- Software Engineering
CS 160- User Interfaces

You can find the scheduling information for these classes here.

Expert Advice

Personal help on your startup can be invaluable, especially when it comes from experienced MBAs or industry experts. In addition to the Haas Venture Fellows Pitch Lab, Berkeley entrepreneurs can spend 15-30 minutes with experienced entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and lawyers at office hours hosted by the Lester Center and the CET Venture Lab.

If I left anything off please feel free to leave a comment below or send me an e-mail.

Tagged as: Berkeley, resources