Meet the Global Founders
One thing people notice when they first come to Berkeley SkyDeck (besides the dynamic energy, stunning views, and the robots!) is the multitude of languages you hear spoken. We are proud of the many global startup teams at SkyDeck. Here are the stories of a few of them.
Intento was founded in Moscow in June 2017 and became a Berkeley SkyDeck Global Team last December. Their main machine translation product is used by some of the top language services providers in the U.S. and around the world. Since Intento joined SkyDeck, they have received $650K in investment funding. Konstantin Savenkov, Intento’s founder, loves the sense of belonging that he feels within the Berkeley community. “Because of Berkeley’s extensive alumni network, which includes many senior leaders in Silicon Valley, the networking opportunities are invaluable.” Konstantin also finds networking in the Bay Area and Silicon Valley much easier than at home. In addition, he loves the physical space at SkyDeck – the penthouse of the tallest building in the heart of downtown Berkeley with a view of the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco skyline. “Sunrises and sunsets are spectacular! SkyDeck is the perfect place for Intento to launch and grow.”
Konstantin Savenkov
Skyloom provides communication services between space and Earth. Founded in Argentina, by Santiago Tempone and Marcos Franceschini, the Skyloom team decided to come to Berkeley SkyDeck because of its enormous value as part of the Silicon Valley ecosystem. Along with the access to incredible resources and networking opportunities, Skyloom is amazed by the dedication of SkyDeck staff. “SkyDeck is always there to provide support and they never hesitate to push startup teams forward so that the startups can achieve greater things, “ says Santiago. “We also love to be located in the city of Berkeley because of the perfect weather and great culture.”
Marcos Franceschini and Santiago Tempone
Perfect Dashboard uses AI to help website hosting providers to sell more effectively and increase their revenue. The company was founded in Poland two years ago. Alex Kuczek, one of Perfect Dashboard’s founders, finds it incredibly exciting to be working with the people at Berkeley SkyDeck. In particular, Executive Director Caroline Winnett, gave him great advice during a pitch practice, and he was very inspired by their subsequent conversations about Perfect Dashboard’s direction. Another benefit Alex finds at SkyDeck is being located in a different time zone than his team members in Poland. He says it is “easier to preserve a big picture mentality for the business, rather than becoming mired in the day-to-day details of running the company.” Alex finds the Berkeley brand to be very powerful. “Thanks to the extensive Berkeley alumni network, it has been easy to connect with people who are willing to help and give back to the Berkeley startup community.” Perfect Dashboard is grateful for all the help they receive, and they are proud that their startup’s success will help to benefit UC Berkeley.
Perfect Dashboard
HUMM is developing a hardware/software platform for cognitive athletes in the professional esports gaming space in order to unlock improved mental processing speeds and accelerate training. The company was founded in Australia. Says Co-Founder Iain McIntyre, “In the first few weeks of the SkyDeck program, we had the opportunity to meet hundreds of new people across the tech industry in the Bay Area and the US.” Another benefit they have found is that being affiliated with UC Berkeley validates startups in the eyes of people in the Bay Area. Iain says this affiliation “literally opens doors and increases the response rate for contact emails and calls.” Iain also appreciates that startups at SkyDeck get instant access to a huge ecosystem of students, researchers, corporate sponsors, events, and other startups centered around UC Berkeley. “We are excited to have the opportunity to run pilots and trials directly with UC Berkeley students in order to gain valuable insights about how our product can help more people.”
HUMM
AWAKENS set out to build a personal DNA database to connect people with DNA-personalized apps. It began in San Francisco in 2017, however, the founding members are from Tokyo. The team chose Berkeley SkyDeck because of the great access to resources within the Berkeley community and beyond. They especially love the benefit of connecting with the incredible SkyAdvisors. After joining SkyDeck, AWAKENS was able to build their own advisory board that includes SkyAdvisors and experts in the industry that they met through SkyDeck. The team is also amazed by the deep connections SkyDeck has with investors, which is a critical advantage for all startup teams. AWAKENS’ team members love living in Berkeley because of the “youthful feeling which comes from so many college students.” They find it easy to go to San Francisco from Berkeley, but appreciate the lower living cost in Berkeley.
AWAKENS
The Many Languages Spoken at SkyDeck