Haas NewsWire


Haas NewsWire, April 16, 2001


CONTENTS
Sea Power & Associates Win Haas Social Venture Competition
William Hambrecht to Receive Lester Center Lifetime Achievement Award
Six Teams Advance to Final Round of UC Berkeley Business Plan Competition
Goldman Sachs Economist on the Brave New Business Cycle: Where is the U.S. Economy Heading?
Rose and Lyons Show Their True Colors at the Annual Faculty Debate
Haas Celebrates Cal Day April 21
Haas in the News
Happening at Haas

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HAAS HEADLINES


SEA POWER & ASSOCIATES WIN HAAS SOCIAL VENTURE COMPETITION

Sea Power & Associates, which converts ocean wave energy into electricity, emerged as the grand-prize winner of the second annual Haas Social Venture Competition on Saturday, April 14. The nationwide competition is organized entirely by Haas MBA students.

To compete successfully, participating teams had to demonstrate sustainable profit potential, have a quantifiable social or environmental bottom line incorporated into its mission, and show a demonstrably greater impact of its social return on investment (SROI) than existing firms in the industry.

Sea Power & Associates, which won the $10,000 first prize, aims to provide renewable energy for the emerging economies of the island communities in the Pacific as well as Hawaii, thus offering a cost-competitive non-polluting alternative to diesel generation.

"Electricity generated from ocean wave energy will reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming," said Mirko Previsic, CEO of Sea Power & Associates, whose patented system consists of a buoy driven by the up-and-down motion of the waves, which converts the ocean wave energy into electricity. "For each yard of coastline in Northern California we could power 20 American homes."

Aprotea Biochips, which has developed technology to provide a rapid and easy-to-use protein measurement system to enhance drug discovery, won a $2,000 prize for best management team. The team includes individuals with extensive experience in business, law, biology, biochemistry, and engineering, and has the winning combination of deep domain experience, passion for the business, and the wherewithal to execute.

Prisma Microfinance, Inc., garnered a $2,000 prize for best SROI analysis. The venture provides micro loans to entrepreneurs in the developing world. Its business plan quantified a positive social impact in terms of job creation, income generation, and community development.

In addition to the cash prizes, all three winners will have their plans circulated in the Investors' Circle, a national network of 150 social investors. Business schools represented on this year's winning teams include Haas, University of Washington, and Thunderbird.

"The competition is a lens that broadens our view of the bottom line," said Jerome Engel, executive director of the Haas School's Lester Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation, who advised the organizing committee of Haas MBA students. "It includes social and environmental values as well as shareholder value."

In its second year, the competition attracted 33 participating teams from 15 business schools, including Cornell, Columbia, Kellogg, Michigan, Stanford, and Yale for its nationwide contest of social ventures. All teams were judged by a group of 17 leading social venture investors, venture capitalists, and social venture practitioners.

Several participants in last year's competition have made great strides toward becoming sustainable businesses. Ripple Effects and Xtracycle, who shared last year's second prize, are in business. Ripple Effects develops award-winning learning software, while Xtracycle sells super-cargo size sport-utility bicycles.

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WILLIAM HAMBRECHT TO RECEIVE LESTER CENTER LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

William Hambrecht, the legendary investment banker who brought us Apple Computer, Genentech, and the OpenIPO, is the 2001 recipient of the Lester Center Lifetime Achievement Award at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business.

The award will be presented by the Lester Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation at the UC Berkeley Entrepreneurs Forum on Thursday, April 26, in Arthur Andersen Auditorium.

Hambrecht is best known as the co-founder of the firm Hambrecht & Quist whose west-coast style investment banking helped launch some of Silicon Valley's greatest success stories. In 1981, the firm managed the initial public offerings of Apple, Genentech, and People Express. By 1997, Hambrecht & Quist had worked with over 700 companies, including Adobe Systems, Advanced Fiber Communications, Apollo Computer, Convergent Technologies, Evans & Sutherland, Read-Rite, Sybase, VLSI Technologies, and Xilinx.

In 1996, Hambrecht & Quist managed the IPO of Boston Beer, maker of Samuel Adams Boston Lager, that inspired Hambrecht to brainstorm the possibility of IPOs that are open to the public. Boston Beer CEO Jim Koch insisted on making 25 percent of the IPO shares available to his market, the people who drank his beer. The idea meant taking a significant portion of the shares away from institutional investors, the industry's mainstay. In addition, opening the IPO to individuals required shipping six-packs to the stores with little forms attached that allowed consumers to make a bid to buy a piece of Boston Beer.

However, the new approach demonstrated its business potential when the $10 million IPO in 1996 was oversubscribed by $30 million - all from individual investors. The question was how to streamline the process. Answer: the Internet.

In 1997, Bill Hambrecht decided to start a new firm WR Hambrecht + Co. that uses the Internet to create an open system for all investors -- from individual consumers to the largest institutional investors -- to have equal opportunities to make bids for IPO stocks, thus the name OpenIPO. OpenIPOs are not only open to small investors but are built on a Dutch auction model where the investors, not the investment bank, set the price.

WR Hambrecht + Co.'s most recent IPO included Peet's Coffee and Tea, a small Berkeley coffeehouse. Peet's was the 5th Internet-based public stock offering led by WR Hambrecht & Co. in the past 3 years.

In awarding the Lifetime Achievement Award, the Lester Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation is able to bring outstanding innovators and entrepreneurs to the Berkeley campus. The Lester Center hopes that this kind of interaction among academics, students, and practitioners will foster entrepreneurial success for individuals and the community as a whole.

Previous winners of the Lester Center Lifetime Achievement Award include:

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SIX TEAMS ADVANCE TO FINAL ROUND OF UC BERKELEY BUSINESS PLAN COMPETITION

The Haas School of Business today announced the selection of six teams to compete in the final round of the UC Berkeley Business Plan Competition. The finalist teams have developed ideas ranging from biotech to medical devices to software and wireless technology. They will compete for more than $90,000 in cash and prizes, including a $50,000 first prize.

Over 65 venture capitalists, angel investors, and successful entrepreneurs served as judges and evaluated the submissions. Another 26 entrepreneurs, professors, and other professionals served as mentors to the teams that qualified for the first round and helped the teams develop their plans.

By bringing ventures led by UC Berkeley students and alumni in touch with Silicon Valley's community of entrepreneurs, VCs, and technology companies, the competition serves as a springboard for the university's most innovative ideas and technologies.

The following six teams were selected by more than 65 venture capitalists to advance to the final round of the competition:



This year's teams are already well on their way to success. Aprotea has already won a prize for best management team in the Haas Social Venture Business Plan Competition. Two more teams also made the MBA Jungle contest finals, one as an alternate and one as a competitor. Finally, one team, which has asked to remain anonymous, was forced to drop out of the contest after the Executive Summary round after receiving substantial funding for its plan.

Access to top venture capitalists and business leaders through the competition may result in additional financing; to date, seven of last year's teams have secured more than $95 million in funding.

The competition will culminate on Wednesday, April 25, 2001, with a final public presentation of pitches from the six finalists and the announcement of the first, second, and third place winners, as well as the People's Choice award.

For more information, visit http://bplan.berkeley.edu/.

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GOLDMAN SACHS ECONOMIST ON THE BRAVE NEW BUSINESS CYCLE: WHERE IS THE U.S. ECONOMY HEADING?

William Dudley, managing director of Economic Research at Goldman Sachs and one of the nation's leading economic forecasters, will speak at Haas on Tuesday, April 24, from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in Cheit Hall, room C230.

This event is free and open to the entire UC Berkeley community. Seating is first-come, first-served.

In his talk, Dudley will discuss the outlook for the U.S. and global economies and offer his assessment of whether the U.S. economy is likely to fall into recession now that the investment boom has gone bust.

"Bill Dudley is an extraordinarily perceptive analyst of the global economic scene," says Professor Janet Yellen who will host the lecture. "He was one of the first forecasters to see that structural changes associated with the new economy had altered the nature of the business cycle. He also recognized that the U.S. investment boom could go bust--that the 'Brave New Business Cycle' could have a dark side."

Director of the U.S. Economic Research Group at Goldman, Sachs & Co. since October 1995, Dudley was named Managing Director in 1996. He is responsible for the economic and interest rate forecasts for the US and also oversees the Canadian economic research effort. He has briefed the Federal Reserve Board on several occasions and is a member of the technical consultants board to the Congressional Budget Office.

Dudley has frequently appeared on television programs such as CNN and the Nightly Business Report (PBS) and is often quoted in business periodicals such as the Economist, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and the Financial Times. Dudley received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in 1982.

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ROSE AND LYONS SHOW THEIR TRUE COLORS AT THE ANNUAL FACULTY DEBATE

Don't miss the chance to find out what two of the Haas School's most distinguished faculty, Andrew Rose and Richard Lyons, really think of each other's professional accomplishments at the upcoming annual faculty debate.

Come to the Arthur Andersen Auditorium at 4:00 p.m. on Friday, April 27, and bear witness to the carnage as Rose and Lyons debate, "Currency Unions in the new Millennium: After Europe, are Asia and Latin America next? Should they be?" Past debates have had Rose and Lyons pounding on one another, mercilessly. The contenders will be controlled only by the verbal barbs of the moderator, Prof. Janet Yellen.

In preparation of the fierce debate, the contenders submitted the following statements:

"Some people believe that the earth is flat. Others believe that there is no link between smoking and lung cancer," says Rose, who is arguing in favor, "I'm not suggesting that Professor Lyons is an ivory-tower theorist who's out of contact with reality ... but then again I'm not suggesting that he isn't."

To this, Prof. Lyons countered: "Professor Rose has really lost his moorings on this one. It's just impossible to follow his logic on the topic. Fuzzy thinking. Very fuzzy." He added, "I'm not suggesting that Professor Rose's thinking is always fuzzy. Occasionally a clear-minded thought does arise. This is not one of those occasions."

This event is sponsored by the Clausen Center for International Business and Policy.

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HAAS CELEBRATES CAL DAY APRIL 21

Every year UC Berkeley opens its doors to the community for a behind-the-scenes look at the nation's premier public university. This day of lectures, tours, open labs and exhibitions, sports, performances, museums, and events is free and open to the public. Last year over 400 people visited the Haas School on Cal Day.

During Cal Day, the Haas Undergraduate Office will be holding information sessions on the program at Haas. The Haas School building will be open for all to tour the computer center, career center, library, and other facilities.

Haas School of Business activities include:

9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Self-guided tours of the school, including the computer center, career center, library, MBA office, Evening MBA office, and Undergraduate office.

9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Meet representatives from a variety of student clubs and the Alumni Relations staff in the BankAmerica Forum and the courtyard.

9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Information and advising on the Undergraduate Program for new and prospective students and their parents in Undergraduate Program Office, Student Services Wing, level 4, S450.

11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Meet Undergraduate Program Director for information on the academic program for this nationally acclaimed program in the Arthur Andersen Auditorium, courtyard level, Faculty Wing, F295

1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Meet Undergraduate Program Director for information on the academic program for this nationally acclaimed program in the Arthur Andersen Auditorium, courtyard level, Faculty Wing, F295.

12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Self-guided tour of the Thomas J. Long Business & Economics Library with access the university's electronic services including business and industry databases, Dow Jones Interactive and corporate annual reports on laser disc. Gather in the Student Services Building, level 3, S350, Haas School of Business.

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HAAS IN THE NEWS

The Haas School was featured prominently in the Industry Standard on April 16 in a special report called "The New MBA." The school was named one of the "Ten Business Schools That Get It." "It" being the New Economy and the role it plays in the school's curriculum, research, and student life and activities. Within the special report, Leslie Davis, MBA 01, was featured in an article called, "The Money Maven" and Jay Stowsky, associate dean for School Affairs and Initiatives, was quoted on the upswing in applications in "A Whole New B-School." Once again, a national magazine recognized that Haas is on the leading edge of understanding the impact of new technology on the future of business and management. Read the entire special report at http://www.thestandard.com/article/0,1902,23346,00.html.

John Freeman, Helzel Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation and faculty director of the Lester Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, was quoted in BusinessWeek on April 16 in an article titled, "The Last Days of Net Mania" on the change in business climate for initial public offerings. Read the full text at http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/01_16/b3728096.htm.

The Haas School was mentioned in BusinessWeek on April 16 in a sidebar titled, "Are Startups Nonstarters?" about which sort of jobs graduates have chosen in the last three years.

Janet Yellen, the Eugene E. and Catherine M. Trefethen Professor of Business Administration, was mentioned in the New York Times on April 15. Read the article, "The 'D' Word: Suddenly, Deficits Regain Their Luster," at http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/15/weekinreview/15UCHI.html?searchpv=site01.

Severin Borenstein, E.T. Grether Professor in Public Policy and Business Administration and director of the UC Energy Institute, was quoted in the Los Angeles Times on April 13 on power prices in the Pacific Northwest. "Northwest's Power Supply Dries Up," can be read at http://www.latimes.com/news/state/20010413/t000031436.html.

The Social Venture Competition was written up in the East Bay Business Times on April 13. "Power Venture Tries for Big Splash" focused on Sea Power & Associates, which has two Haas MBAs on its team, but also interviewed Heidi Gilman, MBA 01, on her company, WiseToad. Read the full article at http://eastbay.bcentral.com/eastbay/stories/2001/04/16/story8.html.

Borenstein was also quoted in the San Jose Mercury News on April 12 on the possibility of blackouts this summer. Read the article at http://www0.mercurycenter.com/premium/front/docs/nuprices12.htm.
Borenstein was quoted in the Los Angeles Times on April 12 and 11 on the California energy crisis. Read the articles at http://www.latimes.com/print/asection/20010411/t000030820.html and http://www.latimes.com/news/state/20010412/t000031137.html.
Borenstein was also quoted in USA Today on April 11. Read the text at http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20010410/3218800s.htm.

Borenstein also appeared on NPR's Morning Edition on April 10; KQED's California report on April 9; KCRW on "Which Way LA" on April 12; and on CNN on April 7.

Janet Yellen was quoted in the Industry Standard on April 9 in an article titled, "The Déjà vu Downturn." Yellen commented that she expected to see more reduction in the interest rates.

Ken Rosen, the California State Professor of Real Estate and Urban Economics and Chairman of the Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics, was quoted in the San Francisco Business Times on April 6. The article was about his recent report that predicted that 80% of dot-coms would be out of business by year-end.

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