Berkeley Haas: Student Entrepreneurship Program

What is StEP?

A 10 week startup incubator program that connects UC Berkeley community members with complementary skills and helps bring their ideas into the world.

Why are we here?

We all know that, if we look at the number of VC-backed startups, UC Berkeley is the top university in the world. However, if you look at the data from a different perspective, we are lagging behind in terms of startups per capita and this data is even more relevant given the extraordinary pool of talents that we have at UC Berkeley.

We decided to investigate the issue and we realized that, although more than 60% of businesspeople joined classes designed to teach entrepreneurship or were in the ideation phase, less than 5% of this population was actually able to access accelerators or pre-seed funding. Moreover, we identified three key problems:

1. Lack of key competencies in the founding teams
2. A siloed mindset across campus organizations and schools
3. An undeveloped entrepreneur-investor ecosystem

StEP is here to tackle those issues and help undergraduate students, graduate students, PhDs, postdocs, faculty, and alumni start their own business!

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+ Eligibility Requirements

StEP is only open to degree program students and permanent faculty. Alumni/ visiting/exchange students/faculty/scholars are not eligible to participate. Email rhonda_shrader@berkeley.edu with questions on eligibility.

+ I don’t have an idea for a business. Can I still apply?

Yes, StEP helps to pair team members with ideators. We accept applications from individuals. You just need to specify it in the application process.

+ What type of commitment is required?

We expect participants to take the program seriously, especially because you will be working on your project. Lecture attendance is mandatory.

+ What type of skills do I need?

StEP’s only requirement is a desire to learn. All are welcome.

+ What's the minimum number of members for a team to be considered?

The minimum number of members for a team to be considered is 2 founders.

+ Does the selection process include an interview?

The StEP leadership team will evaluate each application on an individual basis. If we think that we need to collect additional information, we may invite you for an interview once you complete the application process.

+ How can StEP help us find the co-founder(s) we need?

StEP leverages a proprietary matching algorithm to help you find the co-founder(s) with the skills you need. If selected into the Program, we will help you based on the information provided in your application process.

+ How does StEP actually work?

StEP is a 10-week incubation Program. Every weekly session will be centered on a different theme and will last for 2-hours. During each session, we will host experienced speakers that will manage the content of the session. Additionally, you will be paired with a startup mentor to do weekly check-ins to define the goals and KPIs for the week.

+ Do all the teams access the final Showcase Day?

The ShowCase Day is the opportunity for the teams to pitch in front of a panel of potential investors. StEP is a highly selective Program and we aim at giving only to the top teams the opportunity to be selected for the ShowCase. If your tem show the commitment and the level of progress requires, you will be good to go.

+ Are there deliverables required throughout the Program?

Building a startup is a difficult and intense process. During StEP, the progress of your team will be carefully monitored to ensure that you are on the right track. At the end of each session, you will be provided with a list of key weekly goals to work on. Your team will be also paired with a mentor that will support you in the process.

+ Will my team have the opportunity to interact with a pool of advisors?

Advisory requests will be managed on an individual basis. Your startup mentor will collect your requests for advisory hours and will work to put you in contact with the right profile from our Advisory Board, which is composed by top management from Fortune 500 companies, startups and investors.

+ What are the services we will receive as part of the Program?

The StEP leadership team has been working over the last years to consolidate its relationships with multiple service vendors. Our startups have access, among other things, to free cloud space from AWS and Google, CRM software from Hubspot, among others.

+ What is the final prize of StEP?

We have been working over the last years to build a strong network of partners. The best team of the Program will have unique opportunities to have 1-to-1 interviews with some of the key investors of the Bay Area. Moreover, our track record suggests that multiple StEP alumni have been selected for other excited opportunities after the completion of the Program (40% of the Startup in the previous edition of Berkeley Launch accelerator were StEP Alumni, 10% of StEP Alumni joined Skydeck, etc.)

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