What are the top three rules of real estate? Location, location, location.
While we can’t quite claim that it’s a “rule” when choosing a place to complete your MBA, story after story points to how the strategic location of the University of California, Berkeley Haas School of Business gives our students a cutting edge that would be difficult to find anywhere else. Located just north of Silicon Valley, Haas’ location provides an unbeatable network filled to the brim with opportunity.
Let’s explore how Haas students are leveraging UC Berkeley’s prime location to launch businesses, build networks, and make a lasting impact.
Welcome to the Dreamers
Moving west to pursue your dreams is nothing new. Beginning in the early 1800s, Americans began moving westward with hopes for a new beginning and a better life for their family. This intensified even further in the late 1840s with the California Gold Rush. Hundreds of thousands of dreamers moved their lives to California, aspiring to build something bigger than themselves.
The context has changed, but this pioneering spirit remains. It’s a spirit that motivates Haas students to push boundaries, create businesses, and drive innovation. A spirit that calls students to build something better for their families, create something bigger than themselves, and try their hand at entrepreneurship in this booming land of opportunity.
The biggest thing that Haas offers young entrepreneurs is the network and the mentorship needed to succeed in the very difficult early stages."
There is truly no better place for this pursuit than Berkeley Haas. In 2024, Pitchbook named Haas:
- #1 Undergraduate alumni founders
- #1 Women undergraduate founders
- #1 Venture-backed companies founded by undergraduate alumni
- #1 Venture-backed companies founded by undergraduate women
While entrepreneurship is certainly not an easy road, Haas has a long history of supporting budding dreamers and giving them the tools needed to establish themselves. Ludwig Schoenack, MBA 19 says, “The biggest thing that Haas offers young entrepreneurs is the network and the mentorship needed to succeed in the very difficult early stages.”
With world-class faculty, an expansive mentor network, and a department fully dedicated to entrepreneurial success, Haas offers an unmatched launchpad for aspiring founders. All illustrating that when dreaming of the “gold” of entrepreneurship, setting sights on California is still the right first step.
Berkeley Haas’ New Entrepreneurship Hub
Berkeley isn’t just next to Silicon Valley—it’s shaping its future through innovation and entrepreneurship. One recent development toward that end is Haas’ new Entrepreneurship Hub, or eHub.
The eHub’s faculty director is Saikat Chaudhuri who has always been inspired by Berkeley’s goal to not just produce the latest innovations, but to do so in a way that truly makes the world a better place. In observing all of Berkeley’s different hubs of innovation, he began to see a need: a place for all of these hubs to connect with each other in a way that makes the innovation pipeline more productive and sustainable.
Saikat says, “We also found that though we have many different resources on campus, students have a hard time figuring out where to go to take an idea forward…We have so many alumni who are both entrepreneurs and investors, but there’s no easy way to connect with them. The eHub will unite the entire university ecosystem and bring the strengths of Berkeley Haas and UC Berkeley together.”
Since its launch in Fall 2024, the eHub has already connected students with investors, mentors, and co-founders—accelerating the startup journey in tangible ways. While Berkeley has long been a hotspot for entrepreneurship–taking first place in PitchBook’s rankings of best universities for start-up founders–the eHub can accelerate this innovation to a whole new level through powerfully connecting the university’s expansive resources. In fact, Saikat believes that thanks to the eHub, the next ten years “will be among the most exciting for entrepreneurship at Berkeley Haas.”
A Haven for Venture Capital Entrepreneurs
Venture capital: The idea of this business pursuit can strike both ambition and fear in the hearts of even the most courageous entrepreneurs. But for those determined to lean in, there is no better place to learn than at Haas–just a few miles from the Venture capital capital of the world.
In fact in 2023, Berkeley saw a record-breaking year with the highest number of MBA graduates ever landing jobs in venture capital.
Professor William Rindfuss credits the school’s location for a big part of this boom. The Bay Area location gives students unparalleled access to venture capital firms and allows them to participate in transformative internship experiences during the semester or over summers. He also credits, “support of the Berkeley Haas alumni network, comprehensive courses in venture capital, including New Venture Finance, an increase in campus resources for VC.”
One of those recent VC grads was Alex Rohrbach, MBA 23. Alex had the opportunity to work with multiple firms during his time at Haas. By working with multiple venture firms that needed an extra hand, Alex gained invaluable firsthand experience in the industry. He says of his experiences that “Each fellowship and internship was a stepping stone, but I didn’t know exactly where I would end up.”
Well, he didn’t have to go very far. Alex works at Thomvest Ventures, a local San Francisco fund where he had previously spent a summer internship. For many aspiring VC students, being located at the doorway to Silicon Valley can help turn a dream into a reality.
Seizing the Opportunities and Making a Difference
Proximity to Silicon Valley is a huge advantage—but location alone doesn’t unlock success. It typically doesn’t work to just walk up to one of these businesses and ask for an internship. To truly harness the power of all the Bay Area has to offer, it’s helpful to know the best ways to seize these opportunities.
To aid in this process, one of the courses available for students is called Opportunity Recognition. Taught by seasoned professor Jon Metzler, this course has an emphasis on “creating and capitalizing on opportunities in a setting of rapid technological change and limited resources” and is “particularly suited for those who anticipate founding or operating businesses in Silicon Valley.”
For Haas students, recognizing opportunities is just the beginning. Many want to do more than build businesses—they aim to create impact, leveraging the region’s resources to drive meaningful change.
To that end, Berkeley also offers a course called “Tech for Good” with Professors Dave Rochlin and Adam Rosenzweig. Adam, who also leads a “tech for good” initiative at the management company Okta says, “If we don’t go out of our way to solve social problems, they won’t solve themselves. It’s critical for leaders to know how to create business value and social value at the same time.”
For Haas students, recognizing opportunities is just the beginning. Many want to do more than build businesses—they aim to create impact, leveraging the region’s resources to drive meaningful change.
To that end, Berkeley also offers a course called “Tech for Good” with Professors Dave Rochlin and Adam Rosenzweig. Adam, who also leads a “tech for good” initiative at the management company Okta says, “If we don’t go out of our way to solve social problems, they won’t solve themselves. It’s critical for leaders to know how to create business value and social value at the same time.”
These courses are just two of the many examples of offerings available to Haas students. They equip students with ways to both harness the opportunities of the Bay Area and Silicon Valley while at the same time being conscious of the real-life impact of business on people. In this way, students are learning to be world-class business leaders and world-class citizens.
Still the Place to Be
Nearly 200 years ago, thousands rushed to Sacramento, chasing gold. Less than 100 miles away from Sacramento, a different kind of 'mining' is happening—at Haas, students are digging into knowledge, networks, and opportunities that fuel entrepreneurial success.
Now, entrepreneurship is almost never an overnight success—striking gold in this kind of pursuit takes years of patience, resilience, and dedication. It also takes the exact right combination of people, networks, and resources. With world-class faculty, deep resources, and an unmatched location next door to the heart of innovation in Silicon Valley, Haas offers this exact right combination and continues to be the place where dreamers turn ideas into reality.
So to all the dreamers searching for entrepreneurial gold—Haas is calling.
Interested in pursuing your own entrepreneurship ventures? An MBA from a top business school can help you grow your network and leadership skills so you can take the next step toward a fulfilling career.
