UPCOMING EVENTS
Wednesday, March 17, 11:00-12:00pm PT
One year after the coronavirus outbreak, nearly 30% of California’s small businesses remain closed. Women and People of Color (POC)-owned businesses have been disproportionately impacted, with thousands expected to close permanently. This virtual summit will bring together small business owners and advocates, community lenders, and policymakers to examine the impacts of COVID on California's women- and POC-owned small businesses, and how to create an equitable and robust ecosystem that supports diverse entrepreneurs in California.
Sign up to attend the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies' Summit here.
Wednesday, March 31, 5:00-6:30pm PT
The Financial Women of San Francisco will host a panel including Kellie McElhaney, the Founder of the Center for Equity, Gender, and Leadership (EGAL) at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business and Stu Fram, Manbassador and Haas MBA student, on the impacts the COVID-19 pandemic has had on workplace wellness and how some individuals and companies are making overall wellness a much higher priority in this time of crisis.
Register here.
Friday, April 2, 10:00-1:00pm PT
Join the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business Center for Equity, Gender, and Leadership for the Investing in Inclusion Pitch Competition. This event is an avenue for MBA students and their teams to pitch start-up ventures related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. $15,000 in prizes are awarded to the top teams who demonstrate a vision and potential to generate a positive impact.
Register to attend.
Wednesday & Thursday, April 28 & 29, 3:15-5:15pm PT
The Biocom Institute Education Symposium invites K-12 educators, nonprofits and industry partners who are reimagining Life Science/Biotech learning experiences in their classrooms, schools and districts. Participants will engage in a variety of professional learning and networking opportunities to connect with innovative educators and industry experts & scientists, such as the leaders of Berkeley companies, Bayer and Caribou Biosciences.
Read more on the Biocom website.
RESOURCES & DEADLINES
Application deadline: Friday, March 26
Online classes are Apr. 12, 14, and 19 from 6:00-9:00pm PT
The Bay Area Regional I-Corps Node offers a one-week course based on Steve Blank's Lean LaunchPad (Business Model Canvas + Customer Discovery). The three evening sessions will teach you to identify and refine your Value Propositions and Customer Segments, which are essential to de-risking your idea and achieving product-market fit. Outside of class, you'll do at least 15 interviews with potential customers as part of the customer discovery process. Teams that complete this course with instructor endorsement may qualify for the National I-Corps program which includes a $30k or $50k grant for customer discovery.
Apply now. If you have any questions, contact wdavid@berkeley.edu.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has recently announced $115 million for small businesses pursuing clean energy research and development (R&D) projects. The projects range from grid modernization and carbon removal to renewable energy and energy storage. The SBIR and STTR programs fund a diverse portfolio of startups and small businesses across technology areas and markets to stimulate technological breakthroughs, meet federal research and development (R&D) needs, and increase commercialization to transition R&D into impact.
Read more about this funding update.
Find innovation and entrepreneurship resources available at UC Berkeley at the Berkeley Gateway to Innovation (BEGIN) portal and on Berkeley IPIRA's Innovation and Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Map (a directory of 80+ interconnected resources for educating entrepreneurs, commercializing research, and advancing startups).
LOCAL BUSINESSES MAKING NEWS
COVID-19 has hit Berkeley's economy hard, producing a 13.2% year-over-year fall in tax revenue, tripling of the countywide unemployment rate, and 3,000+ jobs lost, with the greatest workforce reductions in the hospitality and service industries. But the news is not all bad; the City of Berkeley Office of Economic Development's latest economic dashboard shows Berkeley innovation companies span the city and biotech and cleantech companies generated hundreds of millions of dollars of new wealth, even amidst a pandemic.
To learn more, read articles from both Berkeleyside and The Daily Cal.
Keep in Touch
To submit information or questions about Berkeley Startup Cluster contact: oedmailbox@cityofberkeley.info
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