Haas Venture Fellows
The Haas Venture Fellows is a select group of Haas MBA students who receive hands-on experience in the venture capital industry by undertaking project work for prominent Bay Area venture capital firms.
For more information:
- About the Program
- The Fellows
- The HVF Pitch Lab
- Information for Venture Capitalists
- Application Information for Students
- Previous "VC Fellows"
Congratulations to the new Haas Venture Fellows:
- Buzz Bonneau
- Siddhi Saraiya
- Scott Shapiro
- Ian Schworer
- Jia Jia Ye
About the Program
The Haas Venture Fellows is a select group of Haas MBA students who 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 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 have completed projects with a growing number of firms that includes August Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, Mohr Davidow Ventures and Trinity Ventures.
In addition, the Haas Venture Fellows organize the HVF Pitch Lab, a forum for entrepreneurs from the greater UC Berkeley community to practice their pitches and receive constructive feedback in a neutral environment.
The Haas Venture Fellows is a program of the Lester Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at UC Berkeley. The program is made possible in part through funding by the Price Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies. If you are interested in supporting this program, please contact the Lester Center at 510-642-4255.
The Haas Venture Fellows Pitch Lab
The Haas Venture Fellows Pitch Lab provides entrepreneurs from the greater UC Berkeley community with the opportunity to practice their pitches and receive truly objective feedback on their ideas. The HVF team has collectively seen hundreds of pitches for funding, including those by entrepreneurs involved with business plan competitions at Haas and applicants to the Berkeley Entrepreneurship Lab. The goal of the HVF Pitch Lab is to provide feedback on both the style and the content of the presentation in a risk-free environment. The HVF team also has substantial contacts in the venture community and can guide teams on how to best approach the fundraising process. All information disclosed in Pitch Lab sessions will be held in strict confidence if requested.
Format: Time slots are 45 minutes and the team should come prepared to give a 15 minute presentation (~10 slides). A projector is provided – please bring your own laptop. Presentations are made to at least two Haas Venture Fellows and faculty from the Haas School of Business may be present.
Location: Lester Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (F450) at the Haas School of Business. Parking can be found here map.
Scheduling: Reservations are required for the HVF Pitch Lab, held on Tuesdays from 12:30 to 2:00 pm. Please contact Feng Yuan Xu, MBA10, to schedule a time by sending an email to feng_xu@mba.berkeley.edu with “HVF Pitch Lab” in the subject line. A representative will contact you to confirm your time for the HVF Pitch Lab.
Teams which presented to Pitch Lab and received subsequent funding include Aurora Biofuels, TubeMogul and Yardbarker, among others.
Before presenting, please take a moment to review a few resources for understanding what goes into a great startup pitch:
Sequoia Capital Ideas and Formats
Guy Kawasaki’s References-Building a Company
Kauffman Foundation Sample Template on Pitching Angels
Inc. Magazine Elements of a Winning Pitch
Bill Joos Tips from the Trenches
Information for Venture Capitalists
Thank you for your interest in our Haas Venture Fellows Program. Each fall, our partnership selects the best and most dedicated Haas MBA students who are seeking experience and mentorship in the venture capital industry. A teams of two fellows commit to contribute five to ten hours a week to deliver successful projects for partner VC firms. Project work is discrete in nature and may include deal sourcing, deal screening, due diligence, primary research and portfolio analysis.
The Haas Venture Fellows have completed projects with firms such as August Capital, Bessemer Venture Parnters, Mohr Davidow Ventures and Trinity Ventures.
"I enjoyed working with the Haas Venture Fellows and was impressed by their professionalism and enthusiasm for the project." -- Byron Deeter, Bessemer Venture Partners
"High quality free associate labor. Haas Venture Fellows showed me it's not just possible, but easy." - Sean Foote, Labrador Ventures
We would be delighted to put you in touch with Partners at some of the firms who can give you a first hand perspective on the benefits of hosting a Haas Venture Fellow.
If you are a venture capitalist and would like to learn more about the program, please contact Ahsan Malik at ahsan_malik@mba.berkeley.edu
Application Information for Students
Application information for fall 2009:
Please send the following to Victoria Fowler (fowler@haas.berkeley.edu) by midnight on 9/28/2009:
- Essay - Why would you be a good addition to the Haas Venture Fellows? (500 word limit)
- Resume/ CV
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