Founded by Haas students Melissa Daniels and Keval Desai in 2000, Launch is UC Berkeley’s first accelerator program and, for the past 21 years, Launch has supported hundreds of entrepreneurs in launching new ventures. Every Fall, University of California startups are invited to participate in University of California’s LAUNCH program. During the Spring, accepted startups are given access to 3 months of mentoring, Lean Launchpad education, and other resources to turn their early stage startup ideas into fundable companies. In fact, companies that have completed the intensive LAUNCH program over the last few years have raised more than $37 million in venture funding and have secured investment from prestigious programs such as YC and SkyDeck. Last year’s winners went on to interview with top investors such as The House, 500 Startups, and Andreessen Horowitz.
LAUNCH is run by UC Berkeley Haas MBA students, undergrads, and group of successful entrepreneurs and investors. The LAUNCH program culminates in a Demo Day where we give away tens of thousands of dollars in prize money to winning teams. UC’s LAUNCH accelerator program will continue to make an impact on the Bay Area startup ecosystem as the next cohort is set to kick off in January 2019.
If you are interested in being a sponsor of the LAUNCH accelerator program or learning more about participating next year, send us an email at launch@berkeley.edu and follow us for updates on LinkedIn and Facebook.