UC Berkeley ranks nationally as the Number 1 public and Number 2 university in the world for undergraduate programs that produce entrepreneurs who go on to obtain venture funding, according to PitchBook’s 2020 university rankings.
The ranking is based on the number of companies and founders affiliated with each university, along with the amount of total capital those entrepreneurs raised. The 2020 rankings were based on a new PitchBook methodology that tracked founders of companies that received a first round of venture funding between Jan. 1, 2006, and Aug. 31, 2020.
According to the report, 1,365 Berkeley graduates have gone on to found 1,225 companies, bringing in $36.3 billion (USD) in capital.
“We’re delighted with this performance,” says UC Berkeley Chief Innovation and Entrepreneurship Officer Rich Lyons. “It reflects the efforts of a broad array of people around campus who are part of the collective effort. These new companies are part of how we translate Berkeley’s remarkable intellectual creativity into greater societal benefit.”
Adding to the campus’ entrepreneurial spirit are our Berkeley Haas Global Access Program students, who travel from around the world to learn cutting-edge knowledge in entrepreneurship and innovation.
It's such a joy to see their identities transform from considering entrepreneurship as merely a far-fetched dream to increasingly seeing it as an accessible reality for themselves right now.
According to Berkeley Haas School of Business faculty member Alex Budak, “As our BHGAP students take classes like Entrepreneurship Workshop for Startups, IP for Entrepreneurs and Opportunity Recognition with us, it's such a joy to see their identities transform from considering entrepreneurship as merely a far-fetched dream to pursue one day to increasingly seeing it as an accessible reality for themselves right now.
“In addition to the many startups founded by BHGAP alumni, we’re also exceedingly proud that each of our students—no matter their career interests—leave our program with an entrepreneurial mindset, able to see and change the world like entrepreneurs do and to spot opportunities where others may only see challenges.”
Take, for example, graduate Camilo Navarro. Camilo’s entrepreneurship knowledge and friend Alvaro Silberstein’s business skills were the perfect match to develop their startup: Wheel the World. It began as an online platform similar to AirBnB for people with disabilities to search hotels/activities that are accessible.
“Our company aims to solve the lack of accessibility by raising awareness of the problem worldwide,” Camilo shares. With limited entrepreneurial experience, Camilo relied on the knowledge he gained from his Berkeley Haas Global Access Program courses.
“My Berkeley program helped me get the right framework to start our company,” Camilo confirms. “We heard a lot of negativity [to gain funding]. After a lot of hard work, for the first time we felt that people actually believed in us and our company while attending UC Berkeley.”
Or for future entrepreneur, graduate Elis Cotosky: “In the future, I want to start my own company, so I will be able to use all of this knowledge back with me in Brazil. All the details I learned in BHGAP are important when starting your own company. I learned to not be afraid to fail as that is normal in this field.”
As part of the program, students attend site visits to burgeoning companies and startups, including Skydeck, Berkeley’s accelerator for entrepreneurs.
This is one of the many reasons why graduate Frederic Bock attended the program:
Or many of our other graduates:
Are you ready to embrace your entrepreneurial spirit at a leading university? Then check out our Berkeley Haas Global Access Program to get you on the right path.
