Berkeley EMBA uses Cal I&E resoures to springboard into entrepreneurship

Great writeup on Berkeley Haas EMBA and I-Corps alum Reggie Draper, who shares how the Berkeley Innovation and Entrepreneurship resources were key to finding success in his new role at Draper X Ventures Platform: https://blogs.haas.berkeley.edu/the-berkeley-mba/entrepreneurial-drive-fuels-a-career-pivot

Among those resources are classes like Online Marketplace & Platform Design, taught by Assistant Professor David Holtz, PhD, Entrepreneurial Strategies, and Advanced Innovation. Another class, Startup Disco, taught by Rhonda Shrader, executive director of the Berkeley Haas Entrepreneurship Program, applies the scientific method to business problems. He also benefited from the NSF-I Corps training on transforming innovative technology into a start-up and student-led stEP, which aims to increase collaboration among clubs, schools, alumni, and students at Berkeley. And, with luck, Reggie’s application to Berkeley’s SkyDeck accelerator will keep him and Draper Automotive revving their engines.

“All of these classes and experiences looked at different aspects and principles of entrepreneurism, but they built on each other. I really liked the emphasis on the human element. They taught me the importance of who cares about my product, why do they care, how much do they care?” Reggie said. “The professors brought in the principals of start-ups and other industry-leading speakers. We got to learn from the source and to meet them as people.”

He grew up in a family with a strong work ethic and he sees echoes of that at Berkeley Haas. “They push you here, and you push yourself,” he said. “There is a scrappiness here, an agreement that we are here to over-achieve.”