There are a wide variety of clubs and activities oriented to entrepreneurship, both at the Haas School and on campus. These clubs offer many special events and also provide leadership opportunities for students. Club activities are an excellent opportunity for networking and team building.
Berkeley Entrepreneurs Association
At least one third of each incoming MBA class joins the Berkeley Entrepreneurs Association (BEA). BEA organizes and presents an array of programs and opportunities for Berkeley-Haas students and members of the UC Berkeley community. BEA works to bring together students from across the UC Berkeley campus to support one another in their entrepreneurial pursuits. BEA also spearheads a multitude of entrepreneurial events across campus, such as Innovators@Cal, VC Connect, Founders Connect, and the Venture Capital Investment Competition, to name a few. Several of these programs are highlighted below. For more information on BEA’s ongoing activities, visit the BEA website.
A 1 unit course, “Life as an Entrepreneur”, has been developed by BEA to provide first-year MBAs with a high-level survey of the field of Entrepreneurship.
Haas Venture Fellows
The Haas Venture Fellows is a select group of Berkeley MBA, EWMBA & EMBA students that receive hands-on experience in the venture capital industry and foster strong relationships between the venture capital community and the Berkeley-Haas School of Business. The group also maintains a network of UC Berkeley alumni working in the venture capital industry and contacts to entrepreneurship initiatives across UC Berkeley. The Haas Venture Fellows engage in three principal activities:
VC Project Work
Fellows receive hands-on experience in the venture capital industry by undertaking project work for prominent Bay Area venture capital firms. The group develops relationships with general partners at VC firms, agrees on projects to undertake, and delivers results directly to the venture capital firm. The Haas Venture Fellows have completed projects with a growing number of firms that includes Sequoia Capital, Morgenthaler Ventures, August Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, Mohr Davidow Ventures and Trinity Ventures among others.
VC Connect
An annual event to strengthen the connection between the investing community of Silicon Valley and the startup ecosystem at Berkeley.
Venture Capital Speaker Series
A student-initiated for-credit course covering various aspects of the venture capital industry from the perspectives of venture capitalists and entrepreneurs. Guests are invited to introduce their venture capital firms and share insights from their experiences in the industry. Topics include investment process, seed to late stage investment, industry trends, fundraising as an entrepreneur and sector specific discussions (i.e. IT, consumer, web, biotech, etc.). The objective of the course is to provide those interested in venture capital or seeking venture capital funding the opportunity to learn from and engage with prominent figures in the industry.
Innovators@Cal
Innovators@Cal provides an opportunity for entrepreneurial-minded students across the UC Berkeley campus to connect and share startup ideas.
The event encourages students to form cross-campus collaborations in order to brainstorm, problem-solve, and help each other develop their startup ideas. Many of the participants go on to enter the LAUNCH: University of California’s Startup Accelerator.