Berkeley StEP Batch Kickoff and Week 1!
Welcome to Berkeley StEP Batch 2!
Berkeley StEP is an 8-week experiential program that connects UC Berkeley engineering, computer science, business, design, and law students to help them try a real founder experience. This program was created to foster the UC Berkeley entrepreneurial ecosystem and nurture those within it. We are hoping to bridge the withstanding gap between aspiring entrepreneurs and top accelerators.
Last spring, at our Batch 1, we supported 25 teams, some of which joined premium accelerator programs, and that have raised +$600k in this short time. This Fall, StEP is gaining momentum — we partnered with clubs and faculty across the University, VCs, and industry experts and we got space in the Innovation Lab at the majestic UC Berkeley Memorial Stadium. Out of 220 applications we accepted 41 teams.
What is included in the 8-week program?
Teams will…
- Run at least 30 customer interviews
- Create product mockups and have at least 20 potential customers provide feedback
- Build their MVP
- Define their growth hacking roadmap
- Define their go-to market strategy
- Understand their unit economics
- Build their pitch deck and practice their pitch
- Identify their Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Once these skills have been solidified and polished, our top startups will present to investors and accelerators on Showcase Day on December 10th, 2019 — save the date and stay tuned.
On this Week 1, we were overjoyed with the amazing turnout!
We heard from two fantastic speakers, Kal Deustch and Rhonda Shrader. We learned a lot from Kal, an experienced entrepreneur and investor, and Rhonda, the Executive Director of the Berkeley-Haas Entrepreneurship Program.
Kal held a helpful lecture and a brainstorming workshop that included:
- Which problems to solve and how
- How to think about the “pains” and “gains” and learn to what extent would people would respond to each
- Q&A session
Rhonda talked to our entrepreneurs about the Bay Area Startup Ecosystem, and all the great opportunities that exist. During her session, we also went around as each team introduced themselves and briefly summarized their ideas.
Throughout the next 9 weeks, we will be following each team and getting to know them and better. Stay tuned to learn more with us through…
