COURSE NUMBER: MBA294.1

COURSE TITLE: Life as an Entrepreneur

UNITS OF CREDIT: 1

INSTRUCTOR OF RECORD: Toby Stuart

STUDENT COORDINATORS: Katie Fritts and Austin Lee

E-MAIL ADDRESSES: kathryn_fritts@mba.berkeley.edu; austin_lee@mba.berkeley.edu

MEETING DAY(S) / TIME: Tuesday 6:00-8:00PM (Fall B Only)

The class will meet on the following dates: 10/29, 11/5, 11/12, 11/19, 11/26, 12/3, 12/10.

PREREQUISITE(S): none

CLASS FORMAT: Guest speaker presentations, Q&A, instructor remarks, pitch opportunities, networking with speakers.

REQUIRED READINGS: Reviewing speaker bios prior to class is highly encouraged.

BASIS FOR FINAL GRADE: Weekly attendance, class participation (Q&A), and feedback / ratings of speakers.

ABSTRACT OF COURSE'S CONTENT AND OBJECTIVES:

We are excited to offer Berkeley Graduate students the chance to hear and meet some of the leading entrepreneurs and start-up industry experts in the Bay Area. Past participants have included James Sabry, Head of Genentech Partnering and founder of Cytokinetics, David Friedberg, Founder of the Climate Corporation, and the Haas team behind Revolution Foods. Each Tuesday from 6-8PM, there will be two speakers with 1-hour presentations (2 hours total) followed by an optional networking event for students to meet with the guest speakers.

 This 1 unit course is led by the Berkeley Entrepreneurs Association and the Lester Center for Entrepreneurship to provide students with a high-level survey of the field of Entrepreneurship. The course enables students to learn from entrepreneurs at organizations of various stages of development and funding, and to gain insight into entrepreneurial pursuits across a broad range of industries (innovating in high-tech silicon valley to turning around a family restaurant operation). Entrepreneurs will present about how their organizations were created, and share personal and professional lessons they learned along the way. Further, select classes will showcase industry experts (start-up consultants, legal advisors, VCs) to offer new perspectives of the start-up industry. This course is for aspiring and current entrepreneurs, as well as those simply interested in learning more about the start-up life and process.