Network with VCs and Headhunters

City of Berkeley sent this bulletin at 06/02/2023 09:47 AM PDT

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June 2023

BERKELEY STARTUP CLUSTER HIGHLIGHTS

Female Founders: Ask Your Questions to Female VCs

Tuesday June 6, 2023 ⋅ 11:30am – 1pm
Berkeley SkyDeck, 2150 Shattuck Ave.

In 2022, female-founded startups raised less than 2% of all VC funds. How can female founders be taken more seriously by investors?

Join the Berkeley Startup Cluster and Berkeley SkyDeck for this candid, in-person panel to discuss tips on how to navigate VCs as a female founder, current fundraising trends and more. The panel will be followed by a networking lunch.

Register to learn and eat lunch while networking at Berkeley SkyDeck.

Avoiding Mis-Hires: High Stakes Hiring Strategies for Startups

Wednesday Jun 14, 2023 ⋅ 3pm – 5pm, followed by a networking reception
Bonneville Labs, 626 Bancroft Way Suite A Berkeley

Are you a startup founder or early stage hiring manager? Avoid making a mis-hire during such a critical time for your company! Join Hustle Hunters and the Berkeley Startup Cluster for an interactive workshop at Bonneville Labs in West Berkeley where we'll go through a framework for identifying the soft skills and qualities that make startups unique and help you gain alignment on what you need for your critical foundational teams. The discussion will be followed by an opportunity for networking with other startup leaders.

Register here to attend for free on June 14th.

Ambi Robotics is on a tear

Photo: Berkeley High School students on a STEM CareerX Day tour of Ambi Robotics, May '23

Last month, Ambi Robotics welcomed 19 students, two Berkeley High School educators, and City of Berkeley Office of Economic Development staff for a STEM CareerX tour of their West Berkeley office and R&D lab. All were impressed by their Berkeley-built, AI-powered robotic sorting systems which help shippers like Pitney Bowes and OSM Worldwide to sort approximately 10 million parcels annually. With over 100 cutting-edge systems currently sorting an average of 315 units per hour across the US, the positive impact of this automation ripples well beyond our community; in fact, it empowers hundreds of warehouse workers to handle more, safely.

The team emphasized the collaborative culture and teamwork that make the company's innovation possible. During a career panel for the students, Technical Project Manager Tiffany Miki Bassey remarked, "I love building things and seeing the things I build work."

On that note, the team will announce this month their latest innovation: a new parcel sorting solution that will accelerate operations for ecommerce retailers, global shippers, and logistics companies, while reducing operating costs to keep prices low for the end-consumer.

Check back here June 6 or later for the big reveal of Ambi Robotics' latest solution: a bot designed to operate alongside warehouse workers and automate the labor-intensive and manual sorting processes involved in sorting mixed parcels at high-speed.

To host a STEM CareerX tour at your company next school year and show off your company's own innovations, email us.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Venture Hub Investor Day with Abbvie and Pitch Fest at BIO

Attendance Application Due: Friday, June 9

Venture Hub by Biocom California connects investors with rising life science companies and they're excited to spotlight some of the hottest companies during the 2023 BIO Convention for their Venture Hub Pitch Fest. Join them at booth #2935 to hear ten-minute pitches from CEOs and founders on breakthrough science and technologies. They will also be facilitating connections between early-stage biotechnology companies to explore funding opportunities at Venture Hub Investor Day with AbbVie in the Bay Area (date still TBD).

Apply by June 9 for consideration. Selected companies will be notified by June 26.

Product & AI Summit with Startupgrind

Wednesday Jun 14, 2023 ⋅ 8 am – 11 am
Virtual

Join Startupgrind's Product and AI Summit to hear about the present and future of AI in product development and why all startups need an AI strategy! AI is no longer just a buzzword - it’s rapidly changing the way startups build, improve, create, and shape their products and teams. The next wave of AI products are going to change the world!

Register to attend online.

Summer Mixer at Covenant Wines with the Berkeley Chamber and Women Entrepreneurs of Berkeley

Thursday Jun 15, 2023 ⋅ 5 pm – 7pm
Covenant Winery, 1102 Sixth St. Berkeley

In 2003, Covenant founders Jeff Morgan and Leslie Rudd tasted an Israeli wine that inspired them to bring a new California perspective to a 3500-year-old winemaking tradition. What started as a 500-case Napa Cabernet project has now grown to become a 9,000-square-foot urban winery in Berkeley. Join the Berkeley Chamber and the Women Entrepreneurs of Berkeley at Covenant Winery for a cool, fun & inspiring event to unwind after your long workday.

Register here to mingle with other members of the business community while enjoying delicious wine and snacks.

RESOURCES & DEADLINES

Get Investment Ready with the ICA

Applications due June 18th

The ICA Fund mentors and invests in founders of color and women entrepreneurs. At ICA, they support high-potential companies through their accelerator programs and through long-term, flexible capital from the ICA Growth Fund.

The Lab at ICA is an 8-week accelerator program for early-stage companies focused on strategic growth. The Lab at ICA helps founders strengthen business fundamentals and get ready for capital.

The Accelerator at ICA is a 12-week, flagship accelerator program designed for established companies with a scalable business model that supports job creation and has tangible expansion opportunities.

Apply before June 18.

Submit Your Story to be Featured by Biocom California

Biocom California is championing the progress made by California’s life science community and wants to hear about your company’s latest scientific breakthrough, investment milestone, or commitment to creating positive change for our industry.

Submit your story here for possible inclusion in an upcoming issue.

Lab & Facilities Manager Position with Cell Valley Labs

Cell Valley Labs (CVL) is a lab and business co-working space housed within Wild Earth, Inc. in Berkeley, CA. CVL currently hosts 8 start-up tenant companies, most of which innovate in plant-based food-tech. CVL consists of multiple lab and office spaces, all built and managed to support the research and development goals of the tenant companies.

The Lab & Facilities Manager will ensure the tenants at CVL can work effectively with day-to-day support for crucial services and equipment.

Learn More or Apply Today

Professional Development for Your Interns and Young Staff

94% of employees "would stay at a company longer if it simply invested in helping them learn." (2019 LinkedIn Report)

RePicture, a Berkeley-based mission-driven Public Benefit company with a vision to create a world where everyone can thrive in STEM, is running a small special pilot program for companies with STEM and STEM-interested interns this summer through its award-winning STEM Career Accelerator. It's an easy, flexible, affordable way to offer your top talent a meaningful career development opportunity. Whether you have a thriving and established intern program or not, this is a zero-effort way to provide your college-level interns and young staff additional career support and help them grow professionally.

Interested? Learn more on RePicture's website and see the Accelerator's 2023 Calendar of Events. Or contact co-founder Aelisa Carr directly.

BERKELEY INNOVATORS MAKING NEWS

Berkeley Startup Prime Roots Raises $30 Million

Prime Roots, a plant-based alternative protein startup in Berkeley, has raised $30 million in a Series B round as it gears up to expand its retail footprint this year. The company uses a fermentation process with a protein-rich type of mycelium that's a staple in traditional Asian cooking, called koji, to produce plant-based proteins that mimic the muscle fibers of real meat!

Read More in bizwomen.

Strawberry Creek Ventures invests in UC Berkeley-related startups

Strawberry Creek Ventures creates venture capital funds focused on UC Berkeley startup companies, with an investor base made up of campus alumni and other members of the entrepreneurial community. With Strawberry Creek Ventures’ first fund in 2017, managing partner Matt Caspari said many companies backed by the venture have strong connections to campus.