Berkeley entrepreneurship begins here

The University of California, Berkeley offers entrepreneurs an unparalleled education, top research centers and faculty, and the opportunity to be part of the innovative culture in the San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon Valley. The Berkeley Gateway to Innovation (BEGIN) is the portal to the entrepreneurship community at UC Berkeley. Our goal is to help students, faculty, researchers, and other innovators understand the resources available at Berkeley to support educating entrepreneurs, commercializing research, and advancing startups.

BEGIN is funded in part by the State of California Assembly Bill 2664 for entrepreneurship and innovation expansion at the University of California, Berkeley .

Fall 2020 Introduction to Entrepreneurship & Innovation Resources

Watch an introduction to entrepreneurship and innovation resources presented at Fall 2020 Golden Bear Orientation by University of California, Berkeley staff and faculty.

Roadmap

Roadmap for Entrepreneurship & Innovation at UC Berkeley

Classes
Events
Student Groups
Competitions
BearX
Research

Campus Life

New Venture Education

Acceleration

Funding

Angels
Government grants
Incubators
Industry
Venture Capital

Deadlines

Startup Law Initiative – Client Application Form Fall 2020 – Ongoing

Through the Startup Law Initiative (SLI), law students team up with law firms to provide free legal incorporation services to local entrepreneurs. SLI’s services allow Bay Area founders to overcome …

Startup Fundamentals: FORM+FUND

Apply Now for Berkeley Law’s Startup Program! APPLICATIONS DUE SEPTEMBER 1, 2020 Startup Fundamentals: FORM+FUND Applications for FORM+FUND Fall 2020 — Berkeley Law’s workshop series for Berkeley-affiliated entrepreneurs — close …

Classes

FAQ

How can I become an entrepreneur?

Where can I find seed funding?

Many competitions and acceleration programs have cash prizes and stipends that can help startups move forward.

Here are some other sources of to help you get started:

Bay Area I-Corps - provides small grants to help startups validate their value proposition.

SBIR/STTR grants - The US federal government runs the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. For more information, visit the SBIR/STTR website.

The House Fund - A fund started by UC Berkeley alumni providing early-stage seed funding to all types of startups.

Where can I find legal advice?

How can I recruit teammates?

Building a team is one of the most important parts of building a startup. Finding people with diverse skills, strengths and perspectives will increase your likelihood of succeeding.

There are many ways to find teammates. One way is to participate in a competition or hackathon. You can also find people to work with in a new venture education course or one of your other classes.

There are also platforms designed specifically to help founders connect, such as BearX.

I lead a Berkeley-affiliated entrepreneurship program, how can I get my organization listed on the Begin site?

Where can I find more information about licensing and intellectual property including patent rights and software copyrights?

How can I find out about available office space in Berkeley?

Didn't find what you were looking for? Try our concierge.

Events

09/03, Innovation-X Roundtable: Re-Evaluating the Supply Chain

Register Transportation Execution is driven by Innovation in uncertain times. The Logistics Industry in the U.S. represents approximately 10% of the GDP or close to 2 trillion dollars. …