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"The UCB Business Plan Competition is an excellent program that is providing students and academia a mechanism and process for commercializing great ideas and technologies."
- Dan Worley
Director, Incubator, LLC
The Lester Center
For additional information regarding the study and promotion of entrepreneurship, visit the Lester Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation.
Resource Center
Many resources are available for entrepreneurs. Please feel free to browse the list below. Also, visit The Lester Center, the sponsor of the UC Berkeley Business Plan Competition, for more information relating to entrepreneurship.
Entrepreneurial Best Practices Series
The Entrepreneurial Best Practices Series brings to UC Berkeley and the Haas School the best practitioners from the Berkeley and Silicon Valley community to speak about the practical aspects of entrepreneurial activity. Below are workshop presentations from previous years.
2009 / 2010 Schedule
Past events:
| Date | Topic | Presentation | Video |
| 10/06/09 | Opportunity Recognition | Auto TB - Opportunity Recognition | n/a |
| 10/27/09 | IP and Legal Issues | Morrison Foerster - IP and Legal Issues | link |
| 11/17/09 | Internet Marketing & Business Strategies | Tandem Entrepreneurs - Adrenaline Start-ups and Rapid Fire Marketing |
Future events (all sessions 6:30-8:30 pm):
| Date | Topic | Location |
Monday 11/30/09 |
How to Write a Business Plan |
Wells Fargo Room, Haas School of Business |
Tuesday 12/08/09 |
Social Ventures Financing & Impact |
Wells Fargo Room, Haas School of Business |
| Tuesday 02/09/10 | Building Better Business Models | Wells Fargo Room, Haas School of Business |
| Tuesday 02/16/10 | Financial Modeling & Management | TBD |
| Monday 03/01/10 | Business Models / Pitching | Wells Fargo Room, Haas School of Business |
| Tuesday 03/30/10 | Incorporation and Compensation | TBD |
| Tuesday 04/20/10 | Financing | TBD |
Workshop Presentations from 2008-2009
- IP and Legal Issues (Best Practices Workshop; October 28, 2008)
- Related document on IP issues Top 10 Most Common Intellectual Property Rights Mistakes During Venture Capital Due Diligence
- Internet Marketing and Business Strategies (Best Practices Workshop; November 18, 2008)
How to Write a Business Plan (Best Practices Workshop; December 8, 2008)
- Presentation by Tyler Elliston
- Presentation by Prashant Shah
Financial Modeling & Management (Best Practices Workshop; February 17, 2009)
- Presentation by Anthony Nassar
Incorporation and Compensation (Best Practices Workshnop; April 1, 2009)
Workshop Presentations from 2007-2008
- Financial Models (Best Practices Workshop; March 3, 2008)
- How To Write A Great Business Plan (Best Practices Workshop; February 19, 2008)
- Business Concept Questionnaire (Best Practices Workshop; February 19, 2008)
- An Insider's View: How to Raise Money from VCs (Best Practices Workshop; February 4, 2008)
Workshop Presentations from 2006-2007
- Incorporation and Compensation in a Start-up (Best Practices Workshop; March 5, 2007)
- Convert (Andre Marquis, Best Practices Workshop; January 23, 2007)
- Business Plan Basics (Robin Jones, Best Practices Workshop; January 23, 2007)
- Opportunity Recognition (Jim Hornthal, Best Practices Workshop; October 24, 2006)
- Top Ten Mistakes (Chris Keene, Best Practices Workshop; Workshop; October 24, 2006)
Workshop Presentations from 2005-2006
- Market Research Best Practices (Shomit Ghose, Best Practices Workshop; November 8, 2005)
- Product Development For Startups (Deepak Rana, Team/Product Development Workshop; December 8, 2005)
- Early Stage Company Leadership (Michael F. Lynch, Team/Product Development Workshop; December 8, 2005)
- Business Plan Basics (Robin Jones, Business Plan Workshop; January 18, 2006)
- How to Write a Successful Business Plan (Andrei Marinescu, Business Plan Workshop; January 18, 2006)
- Financial Management in a Growing Start up (Rick Prime, Best Practices Workshop; February 8,2006)
- Financing a Start Up (Brian Goncher, Financial Modeling/Financial Magagement Workshop; February 8, 2006)
- Financial Spreadsheet Template (Brian Goncher, Financial Modeling/Magagement Workshop; February 8, 2006)
- Business Models (Henry Chesbrough, Business Models Workshop; February 22, 2006)
- A Founder's Tale (Organizing and Running a Startup; March 15, 2006)
Business Plan Writing
You may submit any format you feel is appropriate, but here are some resources to help you think about structuring a business plan and executive summary:
- Ernst & Young: "Outline for a Business Plan"
- Deloitte & Touche: "Financial Modeling"
- Suggested Executive Summary Format
Web Resources
Below are a few suggested Web sites to help get you started in the preparation of your business plan. These sites provide information on a wide range of entrepreneurial subjects.
- Entrepreneurial Edge Online - An on-line resource center and magazine for entrepreneurs. Check out the section called Business Builders.
- Small Business Administration - Information on legal issues, business planning, software, and other resources.
- Developing Your Business Plan Workshop - This page from the Small Business Administration Web site contains a basic step-by-step approach to writing a business plan.
- The Red Herring - The Red Herring provides directories, resources and news and analysis on high-tech and entrepreneurial happenings.
- Business Essentials Library - Palo Alto Software - Palo Alto Software produces business planning software. There are several sample business plans available as well as tips, planning outlines, and other information.
- Ultimate Solutions' Business Plan Template
- AltaVista's LookSmart links to business plan tools
- Long Business & Economics Library
- Bplans.com business planning resources
- NTIA's business plan outline
- The offering of technologies with business applications at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's Industrial Partnerships and Commercialization Office.
Books
Entrepreneurial Management- The Ernst and Young Business Plan Guide by Eric Siegel, Brian R. Ford, and Jay M. Burnstein
- The Portable MBA in Entrepreneurship, 2nd ed. by William D. Bygrave, Editor
- The Start-up Entrepreneur by James R. Cook
- The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Business Law by Constance Bagley and Craig E. Dauchy
- New Venture Mechanics by Karl H. Vesper
- Engineering Your Start-up: A Guide for the Hi-Tech Entrepreneur by Michael L. Baird
- The New Venture Handbook: Everything You Need to Know to sSart and Run Your Own Business by Ronald E. Merrill and Henry D. Sedgwick
- High-Tech Ventures: The Guide for Entrepreneurial Success by C. Gordon Bell with John E. McNamara
- New Venture Creation: Entrepreneurship for the 21st century, 4th ed. by Jeffry Timmons
- New Business Ventures and the Entrepreneur by Howard Stevenson et al.
- The Successful Business Plan: Secrets and Strategies by Rhonda Abrams
- Pratt's Guide to Venture Capital Sources by Testa, Hurwitz & Thibeault
- Raising Money: Venture Funding and How to Get It by Ronald E. Merrill
High Technology Marketing
- How to Drive the Competition Crazy by Guy Kawasaki
- Crossing the Chasm by Geoff Moore
- Inside the Tornado by Geoff Moore
- Relationship Marketing: Successful Strategies for the Age of the Customer by Regis McKenna
- Real Time Marketing by Regis McKenna
- Marketing High Technology: An Insider’s View by Bill Davidow
- The One-to-One Future by Don Peppers et al.
Other
- Financial & Cost Analysis for Engineering. and Technology Management by Hank Riggs
- High Tech StartUp by John L. Nesheim
- Only the Paranoid Survive by Andy Grove
- Startup by Jerry Kaplan
- Regional Advantage by A. Saxenian
- Built to Last by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras
- Burn Rate: How I Survived the Gold Rush Years on the Internet by Michael Wolff
- Competing on Internet Time: Lessons from Netscape and Its Battle with Microsoft by Michael A. Cusumano and David B. Yoffie