UPCOMING EVENTS
Monday, April 8, 2019 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM
Berkeley SkyDeck // 2150 Shattuck Avenue Penthouse Floor Berkeley, CA 94704
Join SkyDeck for a Fireside Chat with Vignesh Ravikumar (Vice President, Sierra Ventures) & Ben Bayat (Managing Director, NextGen Venture Partners) about their personal perspectives on what it takes for startups to successfully fundraise in today's climate, how startups can stand apart from the rest and their projections for the rest of 2019.
To register, see Fireside Chat
Wednesday, April 17, 2019 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM
Berkeley SkyDeck // 2150 Shattuck Avenue Penthouse Floor Berkeley, CA 94704
Join SkyDeck for words from KK Wong, co-founder of Xiaomi, as he talks about his team’s journey starting the world’s third largest mobile company and bringing it to IPO. KK will discuss the challenges of creating a company at the intersection of hardware, internet, and new retail -- and where he sees the world of tech in the next decade. Richard Chan, co-founder and MD at Ironfire Ventures, and Berkeley SkyDeck Executive Director Caroline Winnett will also join this discussion.
To register, see Fireside Chat
Friday, April 19, 2019 11:00 AM - 1:30 PM
2495 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA 94720 // Pauley Ballroom, UC Berkeley Campus
At this year's Spring Luncheon about "Pathways to the Future", Wyn Skeels, Career Technical Education Program Supervisor, will be honored for his work developing educational pathways at Berkeley High for careers connected to Bay Area industries and trades. Michael McLaughlin, BUSD preschool teacher, will also be recognized for his work setting a solid foundation for Berkeley's youngest students. The Fund relies 100% on contributed income, and the Spring Luncheon raises over 1/3 of its annual budget.
Learn more and register here.
Wednesday, April 24, 2019 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM
B100 Blum Hall // UC Berkeley Berkeley, CA 94709
Six top student teams compete in the annual Big Ideas Grand Prize Pitch Day for up to $5,000 in prizes. Teams will share their vision for social impact with a panel of esteemed judges. This annual highlight of the Big Ideas contest is an exciting event with opportunities for audience participation and networking.
To learn more and register, see Grand Prize Pitch Day.
Wednesday, April 24, 2019 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM
Berkeley SkyDeck // 2150 Shattuck Avenue Penthouse Floor Berkeley, CA 94704
Join SkyDeck for a Fireside Chat with Patrick Lee, Co-Founder and former CEO of Rotten Tomatoes. Patrick will share his journey as a serial entrepreneur running six different startups, of which one of them was Rotten Tomatoes. He will share his thoughts on navigating life in the startup world and the challenges of being a serial entrepreneur.
To register, see Fireside Chat
Wednesday, April 24, 2019 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM
B100 Blum Hall // UC Berkeley Berkeley, CA 94709
The Awards Celebration brings together the entire Big Ideas community to mark the conclusion of the 2018-2019 contest. This year's winners will participate in a poster session and demo their prototypes. Winning teams will be formally recognized and there will be plenty of opportunities for judges, mentors, industry professionals, and students to network, engage, and learn.
To learn more and register, see Big Ideas Awards Celebration
Berkeley High Summer Opportunities - Internship Fair
Thursday, April 25, 2019 9:00 AM - 12:15 PM
Berkeley High School (1980 Allston Way)
Berkeley High School is calling founders who can speak to teenagers about summer internship opportunities! There is no cost to attend: BHS is seeking all employers who can offer either paid positions or an unpaid work experience that will expose the student to life in a startup.
RSVP here to reserve a table or contact James Dopman to learn more about how you can contribute to student learning.
May 13, 15 and 20, 2019 6:00 PM – 9:30 PM (Registration required by 04/26)
Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley // 2220 Piedmont Ave, Berkeley, CA 94720
The Bay Area NSF Innovation Corps (I-Corps) Node is offering a one-week intensive course based on Steve Blank's Lean LaunchPad. The three evening sessions will focus on the Business Model Canvas, Value Propositions, and Customer Discovery, which are essential to de-risking your idea and achieving product-market fit. Outside of class, teams do 15 interviews with potential customers as part of the customer discovery process. Teams can expect to spend 20-30 hours outside of class on interviews.
To learn more and register by April 26, see Lean LaunchPad Training
Tuesday May 14, 2019 2:00 PM
2495 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA 94720 // Pauley Ballroom, UC Berkeley Campus
Save the Date for SkyDeck’s Spring 2019 Demo Day! If you are an accredited investor, please apply to be invited to the invite-only Demo Day. All investors who have previously attended and SkyAdvisors automatically receive an invite.
To be invited, fill out the interest form here.
RESOURCES & DEADLINES
In collaboration with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the goal of the OpenIDEO Immunization Challenge is to find new solutions to the question, “How might we harness technology to bring quality immunization services to mobile urban populations, reduce outbreaks and improve primary healthcare?” The final teams will have the opportunity to work with Gavi to develop a plan for accelerating and scaling their innovations in the 73 Gavi-supported countries.
Learn more and apply here by Wednesday, April 10.
Berkeley SkyDeck has opened applications for the Fall 2019 Cohort. SkyDeck offers access to UC Berkeley faculty and resources as well as a home base for startups to launch into Silicon Valley. The Berkeley SkyDeck Fund provides $100,000 investment into each company and prepares founders to pitch on Demo Day to 600+ investors.
Learn more and apply here by April 30.
The J.M.K. Prize seeks to identify, support, and elevate innovators who are spearheading transformative early stage projects in the fields of the environment, heritage conservation, and social justice. Up to 10 awardees receive an award totaling $175,000 plus guidance through the J.M.K. Fund's resource network, including trainings and tools for ascendant change-makers.
Learn more and apply here by Tuesday, April 30.
An Entrepreneur-Team (E-Team) is a multidisciplinary group of students working together with faculty to bring an invention to market. Receive an E-Team grant up to $25K and get training through the early-stage innovator training program. The program provides peer networking, expert coaching, national recognition, and hands-on workshops to move your innovation forward.
Learn more and apply here by Wednesday, May 8.
DIV is a USAID program that tests ideas and scales proven solutions for global development challenges. DIV provides tiered grant funding ($50,000 to $5,000,000) for innovative solutions that demonstrate rigorous evidence of impact, cost-effectiveness, and a viable pathway to scale. Applications are accepted year-round on a rolling basis.
Learn more and apply here.
BERKELEY ENTREPRENEURS MAKING NEWS
UC Berkeley, in collaboration with Blockchain at Berkeley, UC Berkeley’s Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology (SCET), and the Haas School of Business, has launched The Berkeley Blockchain Xcelerator. The program began in mid-March and will last for 12 weeks, providing 5-10 projects with office space, funding of up to $200,000 per team, business entrepreneurship training, and connections to mentors and investors.
Read more in The Daily Californian here.
Po Jui “Ray” Chiu, co-founder of BioInspira and 2014 Big Ideas winner, was chosen for a Forbes 30 under 30 with recognition in the Energy category. BioInspira is a materials science company that harnesses biology to provide low cost sensors for real-time air chemical detection and analysis. Developed at UC Berkeley, BioInspira has raised $3.7 million in funding and seeks to build an accurate, cheap, power-efficient, bio-based sensor platform for detecting chemicals in the air that could replace the slow, hand-held sensors commonly used today.
Read more in Forbes here.
Information Technology giant, Infosys, partnered with The House Fund II and plans to invest $10 million in artificial intelligence focused startups from UC Berkeley.
Read more about the partnership here.
Ryan Bethencourt of local Berkeley start up Wild Earth appeared on ABC's Shark Tank on March 17th. Wild Earth is on a self proclaimed mission to reinvent pet food using biotech to create a cleaner, healthier and more sustainable option. Good Protein Dog Snacks are now available at select brick-and-mortar retail stores, and pet food retailers can now place wholesale orders for Wild Earth treats.
See the CNBC article about Wild Earth on Shark Tank here.
Keep in Touch
Follow us on Twitter (@BerkStartups) or follow us on Facebook (@BerkeleyStartupCluster).
To submit information or questions on the Berkeley Startup Cluster, contact: oedmailbox@cityofberkeley.info
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