logo


General Resources for Entrepreneurs


Listed below are resources to help budding entrepreneurs develop and grow their ideas. They include volunteer and governmental organizations dedicated to the development of small business, dedicated housing for the young business, and a solid reading list for those just getting started or looking for the answer to that nagging question.

Page Index:


Bay Area Organizations
Bay Area Incubators
Entrepreneurial On-Line Resources, Columns & Blogs
Lester Center Reading List



San Francisco Bay Area Organizations


Astia (formerly Women’s Technology Cluster)
Score
SF Renaissance Center
San Francisco Small Business Development Center
East Bay Small Business Development Center
Silicon Valley Small Business Development Center


San Francisco Bay Area Incubators


SAN FRANCISCO

Daly City Business Center
355 Gellert Blvd., Ste. 230
Daly City, CA 94015
(650) 757-2060
(650) 757-2075

Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center
275 Fifth St.
San Francisco , CA 94102
(415) 541-8580
(415) 541-8589
The Tides Center
The Presidio, PO Box 29907
San Francisco, CA 94129
(415) 561 6300
(415) 561 6301
info@tides.org
 


EAST BAY

Alameda Center for Environmental Technologies
851 West Midway Ave.
Alameda, CA 94501
(510) 749-6865
(510) 749-6862
acet@greenstart.org
AnewAmerica Community Corporation
1918 University Ave., Suite 3A
Berkeley, CA 94704
(510) 540-7785
(510) 540-7786
Brentwood Business & Technology Incubator
101 Sand Creek Road, B
Brentwood, CA 94513
(925) 240-2500
(925) 240-2509
Communications Technology Cluster
300 Frank H, Ogawa Plaza, Suite 210
Oakland, CA 94612
(510) 903-1900
(510) 836-8987
info@ctcluster.com
Oakland Small Business Growth Center
675 Hegenberger Road Suite 201
Oakland, CA94621
(510) 553-0675
(510) 553-0676
osbgc@mgci.com
San Ramon Business Enterprise Center
2000 Crow Canyon Place, Ste. 300
San Ramon, CA 94583
(925) 866-4100
(925) 806-0952
Siemens Technology-To-Business Center LLC
1995 University Ave., Ste. 375 Berkeley, CA 94704
(510) 665-1330
(510) 665-1331
info@siemens.com
TriValley Technology Enterprise Center
PO Box 2187
Livermore, CA 94551
(925) 371-8651
(925) 371-8654


SOUTH BAY

Environmental Business Cluster
2 North First Street , Fourth floor
San Jose , CA 95113
(408) 938-3920
(408) 271-1904

The Foundry Inc.
199 Jefferson Drive
Menlo Park 94025
(650) 326-2656
(650) 326-3108
info@thefoundry.com

Garage Technology Ventures
3300 Hillview Avenue, Suite150
Palo Alto, CA 94304
(650) 354-1800
(650) 354-1801
Global Social Benefit Incubator
Santa Clara University
Center for Science, Technology, and Society
500 El Camino Real
Santa Clara, California 95053
(408) 551-1785
(408) 554-2346

International Business Incubator
111 N. Market Street Suite 600
San Jose CA 95113
(408) 351-3300
(408) 351-3330
info@ibi-sv.org

iPark Silicon Valley
3003 North First Street
San Jose, CA 95134
(408) 432-5000
(408) 432-5020
Los Altos Incubator
878 Hoffman Terrace
Los Altos, CA 94024
(650) 941-4500
(650) 941-2104

NASA Ames Technology Commercialization Center
650 Saratoga Avenue
San Jose, CA 95129
(408) 557-6700
(408) 557-6799

San Jose Bioscience Incubator
5941 Optical Court
San Jose, CA 95138
(408) 960-3807
(408) 960-3822
info@sjBioCenter.com

San Jose Software Business Cluster
2 North First Street, Fourth Floor
San Jose, CA 95113
(408) 535-2701
(408) 535-2711
info@sjsbc.org

San José State University Foundation
210 N. Fourth Street, Fourth Floor
San Jose, CA 95112
(408) 924-1400
(408) 924-1499

Santa Clara Venture Accelerator
2953 Bunker Hill Lane
Suite 400,
Santa Clara, CA 95054
(408) 282-3500

Silicon Valley Economic Development Corporation
1155 N. First Street, Suite 107
San Jose, CA 95112
(408) 298-8455
(408) 971-0680

Sobrato Center for Innovation
6580 Via Del Oro
San Jose, CA 95119
(408) 754-3100
Social Fusion
50 Fremont, Ste 1150
San Francisco, CA 94105
(415) 979-0280
(415) 442-0154
info@socialfusion.org
Software Development Forum
111 West Saint John, Suite 200
San Jose, CA 95113
(408) 414-5950
(408) 275-6219

[top of incubator list]


On-Line Resources, Columns and Blogs


“Opportunities” with Peter Fiske (Haas MBA ’02)

"The Secret History of Silicon Valley", a presentation given by Haas entrepreneurship Lecturer Steve Blank at one of Google's weekly Tech Talks.

"Top-10 Most Common Intellectual Property Rights Mistakes During Venture Capital Due Diligence" by Dennis Fernandez, Managing Partner at Fernandez & Associates LLP

 

The African Network Entrepreneurship Site



Lester Center Suggested Reading List




General Entrepreneurship
  • Adizes, Ichak. The Pursuit of Prime. Knowledge Exchange, 1997.

  • Blank, Steve. Four Steps to the Epiphany, Cafepress.com 2005.

  • Christensen, Clayton M. The Innovator's Dilemma. Harvard Business School Press, 1997.

  • Dorf & Byers. Technology Ventures: From Idea to Enterprise with Student DVD

  • Gladwell, Malcolm. The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. Bay Back Books, 2002.

  • Harroch, Richard D. Start-up and Emerging Companies: Planning, Financing& Operating the Successful Business.

  • Hegedus, Chris. Start-up.com (DVD)

  • Leifer, Richard et al. Radical Innovation: How Mature Companies Can Outsmart Upstarts. Harvard Business School Press, 1st edition, 2000.

  • Moore, Geoffrey A. Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling High-Tech Products to Mainstream Customers. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1991.

  • Sahlman, William, Stevenson, Howard, Roberts, Michael and Bhide, Amar. The Entrepreneurial Venture. 2nd edition. Boston. Harvard Business School Press, 1999

  • Stevenson, Howard, Roberts, Michael, and Grousbeck, H. Irving. New Business Ventures and the Entrepreneur. Irwin McGraw-Hill, 5th edition, 1998.

  • Timmons, Jeffry A. New Venture Creation: Entrepreneurship for the 21st Century. Irwin McGraw-Hill, 2004
  • Timmons, Jeffry A., Andrew Zacharakis, and Stephen Spinelli. Business Plans that work: A guide for Small Business. McGraw-Hill, 2004.


[top of reading list]

[top of page]


Bio-Tech


[top of reading list]

[top of page]


Corporate Entrepreneurship
  • Chesbrough, Henry. Open Innovation: The New Imperative for Creating and Profiting from Technology. Harvard Business School Press, March 2003.

  • Teece, David. Technology, Organization and Competitiveness. Oxford University Press, 1998.


[top of reading list]

[top of page]



History and Culture
  • Bronson, Po. The Nudist on the Late Shift. Broadway Books (reprint) 2000

  • Saxenian, Annalee. Regional Advantage: Culture and Competition in Silicon Valley and Route 128. Harvard University Press, 1996.

  • "The Secret History of Silicon Valley", a presentation given by Haas entrepreneurship Lecturer Steve Blank at one of Google's weekly Tech Talks.


[top of reading list]

[top of page]


Human Resources
  • Pfeffer, Jeffrey. The Human Equation: Building Profits by Putting People First. Harvard Business School Press, 1998.

  • Sifton, Sam. A field Guide to the Yettie: America’s Young, Entrepreneurial Technocrats


[top of reading list]

[top of page]

Law
  • Bagley, Constance E. Managers an the Legal Environment. South-Western College Pub., 4th edition, 2001.

  • Brandt, Steven C. Stay Out of Court and In Business. Archipelago Publishing, 1997


[top of reading list]

[top of page]


Managing Venture and Private Equity Investments
  • Swensen, David. Pioneering Portfoliio Management an Unconvential Approach to Instituional Investment. Free Press, 1st edition, May 2000.



  • [top of reading list]

    [top of page]



Manufacturing
  • Glodratt, Eliyahu. The Goal: The Process of Ongoing Improvements.. North River Press Publishing Corporation; 2nd Revision edition , 1992.

  • Ohno, Taiicho. Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production. Productivity Press, 1988
  • Womack, James. Lean Thinking: Banish Waste and Create Wealth in Your Corporation. Free Press, 2003


[top of reading list]

[top of page]


Marketing
  • Davidow, William H. Marketing High Technology. Free Press, 1986

  • Davidow, William H. Total Customer Service: The Ultimate Weapon. Harper Collins, 1990

  • Moore, Geoffrey A. Inside the Tornado. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1995

  • Peppers, Don and Rogers, Martha. The One to One Future: Building Relationships One Customer at a Time. Currency/Doubleday, 1997

  • Sawhney, Mohan. www.mohansawhney.com

  • Sawhney, Mohan. The Seven Steps to Nirvana: Strategic Insights into eBusiness Transformation. McGraw-Hill Trade, 2001.

  • Sawhney, Mohan. TechVenture: New Rules on Value and Profit from Silicon Valley. John Wiley & Sons, 2001

  • Winer, Russell. Marketing Management


[top of reading list]

[top of page]

Marketing Communication
  • Godin, Seth. Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers into Friends, and Friends into Customers. Simon & Schuster, 1999

  • Godin, Seth. Unleasing the Ideavirus. Hyperion, 2001

  • Locke, Christopher. The Cluetrain Manifesto: The End of Business as Usual. Perseus Books Group.

  • McKenna, Regis. Relationship Marketing: Successful Strategies for the Age of the Customer
    Cambridge, Perseus, 1991.

  • Ries, Al and Trout, Jack. Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind the 20th Anniversary Edition. McGraw-hill Trade, 2000

  • Ries, Al and Trout, Jack. The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing: Violate Them at Your Own Risk. Harper Collins, 2002


[top of reading list]

[top of page]


Opportunity Recognition
  • Downes, Larry and Mui, Chunka. Unleashing the Killer App: Digital Strategies for Market Dominance. Harvard Business School Press, 1998

  • Kennedy, Martin. Understanding Silicon Valley. Stanford University Press, 2000

  • Lee, Chong-Moon et al. The Silicon Valley Edge: A Habitat for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Stanford University Press, 2000

  • Schwartz, Peter. The Art of the Long View: Planning for the Future in an Uncertain World. Bantam Books Audio, 1995

  • Shapiro, Carl and Varian, Hal. Information Rules: A Strategic Guide to the Network Economy. Harvard Business School Press, 1998


  • [top of reading list]

    [top of page]


Product Design
  • Cooper, Alan. The Inmates are Running the Asylum: Why High Tech Products Drive Us Crazy and How to Restore the Sanity. SAMS, 1st edition, 1999

  • Norman, Donald A. The Invisible Computer: Why Good Products Can Fail, the Personal Computer is So Complex, and Information Appliances are the Solution. MIT Press, reprint, 1999


[top of reading list]

[top of page]


Sales
  • Bosworth, Michael T. Solution Selling: Creating Buyers in a Difficult Selling Market. McGraw-Hill Trade, 1994

  • Heiman, Stephen, et al. The New conceptual Selling: The Most Effective and Proven Method for Face-to Face Sales Planning. Warner Books, revised and updated, 1999.

  • Heiman, Stephen, et al. The New Strategic Selling: The Unique Sales System Proven Successful by the World’s Best Companies

  • Khalsa, Mahan. Lets Get Real or Lets Not Play. Franklin Quest Co., 1st edition, 1999

  • Rackham, Neil. Spin Selling. McGraw-Hill Trade, 1988

  • Sandler Selling System

  • Miller Heiman Sales Process Consulting & Training


Strategy
  • Collins, Jim and Porras, Jerry I. Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies. Harper Collins, 1994.

  • Collins, Jim Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap. Harper Collins, 2001.

  • Coram, Robert Body: The Fighter Pilot Who Change the Art of War. Little Brown & Company, 2002.

  • Gunther McGrath, Rita. The Entrepreneurial Mindset. Harvard Business School Press, 2000.

  • Lanning, Michael J. Delivering Profitable Value. Perseus Book Group, 1st edition 2000

  • Musashi, Miyamoto. The Book of Five Rings, Shambhala, 2000.

  • Tzu, Sun. The Art of War, Dover Pubns, 2002

  • Carl Von Clausewitz's On War: Everyman's Library Series, 1982


[top of reading list]

[top of page]


Start-Up
  • Baird, Michael L. Engineering Your Start-Up: A Guide for the High-Tech Entrepreneur. Professional Pubns, 1999

  • Bell, C. Gordon. High-Tech Ventures: The Guide for Entrepreneurial Studies

  • Blank, Steve. Four Steps to the Epiphany, Cafepress.com 2005.

  • Nesheim, John L. High Tech Start Up: The Complete Handbook for Creating Successful New High Tech Companies. Simon & Schuster, revised and updated, 2000

  • Wilmerding, Alex Term Sheets & Valuations - An Inside Look at the Intricacies of Venture Captial. Aspatore Books Staff, Aspatore.com


[top of reading list]


[top of page]


Venture Capital


[top of reading list]

[top of page]


 
 
 

Search the Lester Center:

 

Donate to the Lester Center

News & Events

 

Venture Capital Executive Program (Nov. 30 - Dec. 4)
More Information

November Innovation
newsletter available

Become a fan of the Lester Center - visit our new Facebook page!

Chinese team wins 5th Annual Intel+UC Berkeley Technology Entrepreneurship Challenge

Haas alumnus Patrick Awuah receives Aspen Institute award for creating African university

Haas alumni social venture
World of Good featured in the San Francisco Chronicle

Haas undergrad venture Bamboo Lota is one of three finalists in MTV/NYSE
"Movers and Shakers" competition

Lifetime Achievement Award winner Vinod Khosla talks on The Innovation Ecosystem and Its Role in Shaping Our Renewable Future - YouTube

Newton Distinguished Innovator Lecture Series - Life as an Entrepreneur Series, Tuesdays at 5 PM

Haas startup Carsala featured in the
New York Times

Wall Street Journal Interviews
Jerry Engel on Business Plans & Competitions

New Leadership for
the Lester Center


The POWER of our NETWORK:
the Lester Center assembles
over 300 experts to serve
Berkeley entrepreneurs


Lester Center - Haas Entrepreneurship Program Ranked #7 worldwide by USN&WR

Lester Center - Haas Entrepreneurship Program Ranked #6 worldwide by Financial Times

Special Invitation to
L&S Students

 

 

More News & Events

Event Calendar

Innovation Newsletter


Berkeley seal

 

 

Our Mission

 

"Working with entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, business leaders, policy makers, scholars and students, the Lester Center focuses the resources of UC Berkeley to stimulate the formation, management and growth of new enterprises; to encourage innovation in new and established companies; and to teach the process of successful entrepreneurship and business innovation."