News & Features for 2009

A team of undergraduates - Kyson Bunthewong, Joanna Kim (2009 graduate) and Stephanie Wu - from John Danner's "Entrepreneurship to Address Global Poverty" course last spring (UGBA 196) has taken their final class project to new heights. They and their venture idea, Bamboo Lota, have just been selected as one of three national finalists in the MTV-U and NYSE "Movers and Shakers" competition to be held next week in New York City: http://www.moversandchangers.com/.

The team is working to create a bamboo charcoal company that trains local Malawians in bamboo cultivation and gives them an opportunity to sell bamboo and make a living. This brings charcoal-making processes used in Asia to Malawi, one of the most impoverished countries in the world, where deforestation is a major problem. People have been illegally cutting down trees to make charcoal. Other sources of fuel are too expensive for most Malawians to afford, so charcoal is their only option. Bamboo is a solution to this because it makes good charcoal, grows quickly, and requires less water and nutrients. If the people of Malawi switch to using bamboo charcoal, they can not only reduce deforestation but also have a more reliable source of cleaner burning fuel. If successful, the venture can fight global warming and provide heating to the impoverished. For the nitty gritty - including more background information, financial analysis, and exit strategy - please see the team's business plan under the Africa Rural Connect website: http://arc.peacecorpsconnect.org/view/932/bamboo-lota-the-dream-for-a-sustainable-malawi.

We wish them luck. GO BEARS!!
Lester Center faculty director Jerry Engel was interviewed on NPR's All Things Considered on July 14, 2009. Engel notes that there are factors working in favor of entrepreneurs. He is telling students not to take crazy risks, but to seize the moment while the economy is in disarray and many existing companies are hunkered down and not taking chances. "There is space," Lester says. "There are those white spaces, we like to call them — those opportunities for people to step into." In addition, because there are so many people unemployed and underemployed, there is a lot of available talent to hire. (listen to interview) (read story with link to audio)
Wall Street Journal Interviews Jerry Engel on Business Plans & Competitions: on 6/22/09, the Wall Street Journal featured Jerry Engel in its Business Insight video feature. Titled "Tips for Pitching Your Business Plan", the interview addresses the increasing popularity of business plan competitions and what it takes to win. Jerry goes on to describe the importance of the business plan competition ecosystem and how you can benefit from participating, even if you don't win. Watch the video, or see it on the WSJ site.
The Lester Center wrapped up a great year with its Annual Awards Dinner. Winners of the UC Berkeley Business Plan Competition and the Appel Award, and recipients of the Turner and Larson fellowships were honored at the event. The dinner slideshow, honoring our students, faculty, and sponsors, is available as a pdf file.
Jerry Engel moderated a panel on Social Enterprises at the April 2009 Investors Circle Conference, drawing extensive coverage from the blogosphere: investorscircle, ethicalmarkets, & greenbiz.
The Lester Center honors entrepreneur Vinod Khosla with 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award. The award recognizes the best attributes of entrepreneurship - the pursuit of excellence and the support of others in their success.
The entrepreneurship program at the Haas School of Business, coordinated by the Lester Center, was ranked #7 among all graduate business schools by US News & World Report in their issue titled "America's Best Graduate Schools 2010 edition. The Haas School's MBA program was also ranked #7 among all graduate business schools.
IndieGoGo, the social marketplace where filmmakers and fans connect to make independent film happen, and founded by Haas/Lester alumna Danae Ringelmann, celebrated their 1st anniversary and made the news at the Sundance Festival. IndieGoGo's Ondi Timoner won the Sundance Festival's Documentary Grand Jury Prize for her film We Live in Public. Robert Redford made a surprise visit to the festival's Where Internet & Film Collide event, hosted by IndieGoGo.
The Berkeley Entrepreneurs Forum hosted the UC Berkeley Business Plan Competition Finals and Awards Ceremony on April 30, 2009. For an announcement of the winners, click here. The Finals program booklet is available as a pdf file.
The Global Social Venture Competition hosted its Global Finals and Symposium on April 24-25, 2009, at the Haas School. (event detail) (finalist descriptions) (list of winners)
(Finals program: pdf) (Symposium program: pdf).
The conference attracted favorable coverage from the blogosphere, including Nextbillion.net and Change.org.
Lester Center associate director David Charron spoke at the QB3 Entrepreneur's Luncheon on Friday, April 3, 2009, on the topic "Business model innovation in commercializing new technologies", in room 621 Stanley Hall on the Berkeley campus. Abstract: Rarely are technologies taken straight to the market in a predictable manner. New market understandings are developed, experts deliver their opinions, competition arises and teams change. Often the success of an entrepreneurial endeavor comes from flexibility and resiliency that is reflected in the business model adaptation that occurs over the life of a company. One or two examples will be used to illustrate what has created success in business model innovation.

Special event: Lester Center Guest Speaker:
Robin Chase, founder and former CEO of Zipcar
Monday, March 16, 5:00-6:00 PM,
Haas School of Business, Room C230

Robin Chase, founder and current CEO of GoLoco and Meadow Networks, spoke at the Haas School on Monday, March 16 on "Rethinking 'Mine' in a Scary World". Robin leads Meadow Networks, a consulting firm that advises transportation and planning departments at city, state, and federal government agencies, and NGOs about wireless and mesh networking applications in the transportation sector, and impacts on innovation and economic development. In her other current role as founder and CEO of GoLoco, an online ridesharing community, she has helped shape how people arrange to share car trips of all lengths between trusted friends, neighbors, and colleagues. GoLoco's innovative combination of social networks and online payment systems recasts how we think about car travel, making it a time for socializing and with a new emphasis on trip efficiency, in order to reduce per passenger costs.
Jerry Engel, executive director of the Lester Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, was quoted in the New York Times on March 12, 2009, on entrepreneurship during the downturn.
The Lester Center is partnering with the Young Entrepreneurs Initiative, a non-profit network managed by the Office for Science and Technology of the French Embassy in the United States, which is a platform for mentoring and networking aimed at US-based entrepreneurs who understand the importance of internationalizing their vision and their activity, and who wish to set up a technology venture in France.
After an intense day of competition, the Karnak Capital team of Josh Ewing, Sean Dalziel, Rei Kasai, Victoria Liang and Jacob Rios emerged as winners of the UC Berkeley 2009 Venture Capital Investment Competition (VCIC), held at Haas on Friday, February 6. (photo and more)
Karnak Capital followed up by claiming the Entrepreneurs Choice Award at the Western Regional Finals of the VCIC held at USC’s Marshall School of Business on March 6. (more)

Jerry Engel, executive director of the Lester Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, appeared on Larry Olson's JOB Radio Show on February 8, 2009. A podcast is available here.
The Lester Center has been ranked as the #6 entrepreneurship program in the world by The Financial Times in its January 2009 rankings. We are proud of this recognition. It is another indication of the excitement our students are bringing into their careers when they leave Haas, and the caliber of work done by our corps of tenured and professional faculty who teach them.

Congratulations also go to our colleagues in the Haas Corporate Social Responsibility program, which ranked #5 worldwide. Together, we were the top two ranked academic programs at Haas. The school overall ranked 31st in the world, although Haas did better in other specific categories, e.g., #2 top salaries in IT, #7 in faculty research and #8 top salaries in consulting. Complete results can be found at http://www.ft.com/businesseducation/globalmba2009.

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