Kevin Brown
MBA96

Inktomi

Noah Doyle
MBA 96

MyPoints

John Hanke
MBA 96

Google Earth

Andre Marquis
MBA96

Cybergold

Andrew Laszlo
MBA97

scanR

James Hong
MBA99


Hot or Not

Einar Sigvaldason
MBA02

TellMeTwin

Siddarth Sanghvi
MBA 03

World of Good

Irv Remedios
MBA 05

Mozes

Chris Hulls
BS 06
& D. Singh, EWMBA 09

Life360

Brett Wilson,
John Hughes, &
Mark Rotblat
MBA 07

TubeMogul

Tyler Elliston &
Raif Barbaros
MBA 08

Carsala

Jim Williams (BA 91) started his first company, MarketHome, in the Haas incubator from 1998-1999, when it was sold to ClickAction. MarketHome was an email marketing pioneer that helped jumpstart the ecommerce efforts of large catalogs, including LL Bean, Brooks Brothers, and Coach. Williams’ latest company, Letters & Arts, has developed a web commerce platform for digital media and online media editing tools. This platform has been used successfully in three major markets. Launched in 2003, One Heart Weddings, provides do-it-yourself wedding invitations and wedding programs. Starting in 2004, Sharefaith has grown to become one of the largest providers of church media resources on the web. Since 2006, Must Have Menus, has provided menu templates and menu design software accessible from the web for small and medium-sized restaurants. Williams is also an active angel investor, with current involvement in Dealbase, Sitecheck, Roost, Let's Go Learn, and others.

Peter Goettner, MBA 92, was the founder and CEO of DigitalThink, an enterprise software-as-a-service company focusing on corporate e-learning. At DigitalThink, he led the company through a successful initial public offering, grew annual revenues to over $60 million in six years, and pioneered a hosted model for delivering corporate training content that revitalized the formerly stagnant industry. Before founding DigitalThink, Pete ran the marketing and business development groups at Knowledge Revolution (acquired by MSC Software) and Silicon Microstructures. Prior to this, he was a consultant in Accenture’s supply chain management group. Peter is currently General Partner at Worldview Technology Partners. He currently serves on the Lester Center's Advisory Board.

Kevin Brown, MBA 96, has been instrumental in the development of 4 major technology companies. Kidaro, Inc. provided desktop virtualization solutions for deploying, managing, and securing virtualization across desktops and laptops. In 2008 Kidaro was sold to Microsoft Corporation. Decru, named as one of "12 Hot Startups" by Business 2.0 magazine, developed storage security solutions for enterprises and government, including privacy, secure information sharing, regulatory compliance, and secure outsourcing, and was sold to NetApp. Before joining Decru, Kevin Brown was a c-founder of Inktomi, a pioneering infrastructure software firm. During his seven years at Inktomi, he served in a number of executive positions and was a key architect of its marketing strategy and partner programs, which helped grow the company's revenue to over $200 million. He is currently CEO of Coraid, and innovative data storage firm, and serves on the Lester Center's Advisory Board.

Noah Doyle, MBA 96, has been an entrepreneur and investor for over 20 years. As an angel investor, Noah has supported over a dozen start-ups including Keyhole (Google), Cantametrix (Gracenote), Amae Software (Verint), Nuvon, Aquea Scientific, Ritter Natural Sciences, Emdigo, Magnacash (Yaga), and i-mint India. Noah most recently directed the enterprise product line for Google's geospatial products, Google Earth and Google Maps. Prior to Google, Noah managed the Sales and Corporate Development functions at Keyhole, Inc., the venture capital backed company that created the first Web hosted digital earth model and was acquired by Google in 2004. Prior to Keyhole, Noah helped establish the Internet loyalty rewards marketplace as a co-founder of MyPoints.com, the largest Internet loyalty program with over 6 million active members, where he led product management and business development functions from the company's inception through an initial public offering and subsequent acquisition by United Airlines. Noah is now managing director at Javelin Venture Partners. Noah holds M.B.A. and B.A. Economics degrees, as well as certificates in Management of Technology and Global Management from University of California – Berkeley. He is currently Managing Director of Javelin Venture Partners, and serves on the Lester Center's Advisory Board.

John Hanke, MBA 96, put satellite imagery of the world at the fingertips of anyone with access to the Internet. As Vice President, Product Management, John leads product management for Google's geo products, which include Maps, Earth, Local Search, Transit, Street View, SketchUp and special initiatives such as Google Ocean and Sky. He founded Keyhole in 2001, which delivered virtual models, including detailed satellite photographs, of nearly every square inch of the planet. The company was acquired by Google in 2004. Hanke previously founded Archetype Interactive and Big Network. He currently serves on the Lester Center's Advisory Board.

Jed Katz, MBA 96. One of the pioneers of Internet commerce, Jed has spent his 15-year career developing, advising and investing in early stage technology ventures. Jed was the COO of Yamcon, the developer of the highly acclaimed “SkyScout”, one of the best selling astronomy products of all time. Prior to Yamcon, Jed was the COO and Founder of Rent Net, the Internet’s most-visited rental and relocation guide. Jed grew Rent Net from 2 to over 160 people and into one of the first profitable Internet companies. Rent Net was acquired by Cendant, and three years later, Jed used its infrastructure as the starting point for the formation of Move.com, one of the Internet’s largest real estate and relocation sites. Move.com grew to 360 employees and was acquired by Homestore for over $900 million. Jed is currently Managing Director of DFJ Gotham Ventures. Jed holds a B.A. from UCLA and an M.B.A. from the Haas School of Business at UC-Berkeley, where he was awarded the Price Fellowship from the Lester Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. He is currently Managing Director of Javelin Venture Partners, and serves on the Lester Center's Advisory Board.

André Marquis, MBA 96, is currently Executive Director of the Lester Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Previously he was the CEO of Amplyx Pharmaceuticals, an early stage drug development company that creates improved small molecule drugs. Prior to Amplyx, André Marquis was the COO of Chorus -- a group inside Eli Lilly that has dramatically increased the efficiency of the Pre-Clinical through Phase II drug development. Andre has a track record of starting successful technology-based companies. He was the CTO, Vice President of Marketing and a member of the initial management team at Internet Pictures Corp where he directed the company's product development and business strategy. iPIX was the world's largest manager of Internet visual content with partners including Microsoft and Yahoo!. Mr. Marquis was a founder and Vice President of Marketing at Emptor which became Accept.com, a Kleiner Perkins, Benchmark Capital backed e-commerce company that was acquired by amazon.com. Prior to Emptor, he was at CyberGold where he directed marketing strategy and marketing programs for one of the 20 fastest growing sites on the Internet.

Trevor Traina (MBA 96) has created a new way to get help with car maintenance and repairs: DriverSide.com (http://www.driverside.com/). For years, websites have helped consumers buy and sell cars. But DriverSide is designed to help drivers stay on top of maintenance after they buy their cars. The San Francisco company closed $5.3 million in funding in March. DriverSide users can email tricky questions to certified mechanics, determine what standard repairs should cost in their area, and find a mechanic from a directory of almost 250,000 shops. Registered users also can receive alerts on recalls and routine maintenance. Trevor is also Chairman and Founder of SchemaLogic, Inc., a venture-funded enterprise software pioneer in Business Semantics Management. Most recently he was Chairman of StepUp Commerce, an internet network for off-line retailers. (Sold to Intuit in September of 2006.) Trevor was also a Group Manager in Microsoft's MSN Internet division. Prior to Microsoft, he was the President and Founder of CompareNet, Inc., the leading buyer's guide on the Internet. (Sold to Microsoft in March of 1999.) He currently serves on the Lester Center's Advisory Board.

Andrew Laszlo (MBA 97) is Managing Director at Hercules Technology Growth Capital. Prior to joining Hercules, Mr. Laszlo actively founded, led and advised a series of venture-backed start-ups, including scanR, a company in the vanguard of mobile applications, Fishbowl, a leading SaaS provider delivering marketing services to the restaurant industry, and Internet Pictures Corporation f/k/a bamboo.com (IPIX). At IPIX, Mr. Laszlo played a principal role in building the company from the ground-up, ultimately taking the company public and spearheading a billion dollar merger between IPIX and bamboo.com. Mr. Laszlo’s venture finance background includes working as a Partner at VantagePoint Venture Partners, a $2.5 billion multi-stage technology venture fund, and as a Business Development Manager with Intel Capital where he focused on funding early and mid stage Internet services companies. Before moving to Silicon Valley, Mr. Laszlo practiced law as a corporate attorney for more than a decade. He received an MBA degree from the Haas School of Business, University of California at Berkeley; a JD degree, with high honors, from the George Washington University Law School; and a BA degree in English, with honors, from Wesleyan University. Mr. Laszlo currently serves as a member of the Advisory Board of the Lester Center for Entrepreneurship at the Haas School of Business.

David Hehman (MBA 98) is an entrepreneur and angel investor. David has co-founded and sold 5 technology businesses: HealthDesk (HDSK), GetawayZone (VacationSpot/EXPE), MarketHome (CLAC), EscapeHomes (Roost), Pagewise.com (DemandMedia). David is a Board Member of DealBase, FlexJobs, GoalTribe, LettersAndArts, Webvanta and Zero Link Markets, and a Co-founder of Spartina Ventures, LLC(http://www.spartina.com/), an angel fund for Internet start-ups. Selected past investments: MongoMusic (MSFT), OpenTable, Trails.com (DemandMedia), TravelPost (SideStep/Kayak) and ZipRealty (ZIPR). David also operates www.spartina.com. Mr. Hehman received a Bachelor of Arts in Social Science from University of California at Berkeley in December 1992, and an MBA from the University of California at Berkeley, Haas School of Business in 1998. In 2001, Mr. Hehman attended the PriceBabson@Berkeley symposium for Entrepreneurial Educators. Mr. Hehman was lecturer at UC Berkeley, Sonoma State, and the Haas School of Business, in their entrepreneurship programs. Mr. hehman currently serves on the Lester Center's Startup Board of Mentors.

James Hong, MBA 99, created the popular meeting website HOTorNOT, which has registered over seven million individuals as users of the site. Its success enabled him to create a philanthropy website, http://www.10over100.org, which encourages people to donate at least 10 percent of anything they earn over $100,000 annually.

Einar Sigvaldason, MBA 02, created TellmeTwin.com, a people matching and recommendations website where users map their character by taking personality tests and rating anything they love or hate through user generated data. They find their personality "twins" - people who think like them - and use their profile to discover: paintings, movies, music, books, and more. TellmeTwin was named a winner of the Red Herring 100 Europe award, which the publication gives to the top 100 private technology companies based in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa region each year. The idea behind the company first came to Sigvaldason during his time at the Haas School, when he realized he wanted to find his own "twin" to better pick out movies on Netflix. TellmeTwin was born in August 2007. In fall 2008, the company won the Rannis Grant of Excellence, the highest award from the Icelandic Centre for Research, which pays for the development of an innovative project.

Siddarth Sanghvi (pictured) and Priya Haji , both MBA 03, shared a vision: change the world by building ethical shopping experiences with mainstream retail partners that would channel funds to artisans and craftworkers in over 70 countries. They co-founded
World of Good, a company that distributes a retail line of globally sourced fair trade gifts and accessories. The World of Good won first place at the Global Social Venture Business Plan Competition in 2005 and also took 2nd place at the Berkeley Business Plan Competition. Since its launch in 2004, World of Good has built a diverse leadership team that includes MBAs, seasoned social entrepreneurs, retail industry veterans, engineers, musicians and Peace Corps alumni. They recently opened a worldwide shopping platform partnership with eBay and were featured on PBS’ The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.

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Irv Remedios, MBA 05, reunited with a former colleague to join the early team at Mozes (http://www.mozes.com), which “connects you to the things you love through the mobile phone and the Web.” Initially focused on linking fans with the bands they love, the company – having raised $16.5M in venture backing – is now broadening its link to brand marketing across a wider array of products and services. Irv is Mozes’ Vice President, responsible for its overall platform.

Chris Hulls, BS 06, and Dilpreet Singh, EWMBA 09, are building a mobile platform, Life360 (http://www.life360.com) to help families put all the little safety-related things they worry about
out of mind so they can live confidently. With a single subscription, no specialized hardware, and in less than five minutes, families can have access to a tool that does everything from family GPS tracking, to document warehousing, disaster planning, and emergency messaging.

Peter Vlastelica (pictured) and Jack Kloster, both MBA 06, have built one of the biggest sporting blog sites on the web. Yardbarker (http://www.yardbarker.com) aims to be the main social website for sports fans, players and others. The team also completed a $6M second round of funding, with Draper Fisher Jurvetson as lead and returning investors Russ Siegelman, Ronnie Lott, Jarl Mohn, Labrador Ventures and Baseline Ventures also participating.

Alex Canasi and Mark Schelbert, both MBA 07, started a company focused on advertiser-supported college marketing media. In their words, “While some ideas are hatched in the boardroom, others are born in the classroom. What began as a conversation in a class has grown into a leading non-traditional Out Of Home college media company that delivers more than 400,000 co-branded college notebooks per annum, resulting in more than 10 million impressions per month.” GPA Media (http://www.gpamedia.com) publishes free university co-branded notebooks with advertising and promotions inside. Students use the notebooks to take notes in class for 3 months, on average generating a minimum of 40 impressions per student and 97% ad recall rates.

Brett Wilson (pictured), John Hughes, and Mark Rotblat, all MBA 07, developed their business concepts in several Haas classes, and won the UC Berkeley Business Plan Competition in 2007.  Their venture, TubeMogul (http://www.tubemogul.com), is a video advertising and analytics platform that connects advertisers with highly targeted audiences. TubeMogul's advertising solution is powered by the company's unprecedented data platform that tracks billions of video streams every month from the Internet's top publishers. This unique technology enables TubeMogul to help advertisers find consumers who want to watch their videos - and watch them longer. Advertisers and marketers never again have to choose engagement and accountability over reach if they use TubeMogul's video advertising and analytics platform.  The venture has raised over $15 million from Trinity Ventures, Knights Bridge Capital Partners and Foundation Capital.

Watch Brett Wilson talk about the importance of the Lester Center in TubeMogul’s success.

Danae Ringelmann (pictured) and Eric Schell, both MBA 08, launched IndieGoGo with Eric's former colleague, Slava Rubin, in 2008 at the Sundance Film Festival. IndieGoGo is a crowdfunding platform for all creative, cause, and entrepreneurial projects, from games and books to iPhone apps and charities.  Anyone with an idea can raise money, offer perks and keep 100% ownership of their project.

Since its launch, IndieGoGo has helped thousands of projects raise money across 114 countries. Read more about Ringelmann in Fast Company and CalBusiness. 

Danae was named by Fast Company as one of The Most Influential Women in Technology of 2010. Ringelmann was one of only eight women named in the category of "The Entrepreneurs."

Tyler Elliston (pictured) and Raif Barbaros, both MBA 08, are trying to provide a good experience buying a used car, exactly the way you want it. Not many people have, despite the fact that over 44 million used cars are sold every year in the US. Their startup, Carsala (http://www.carsala.com/) just got its second infusion of angel funding to revolutionize the way people buy used cars. They tested the concept successfully on their Haas classmates. Now on to the mass market.