• Xan Wood: General partner at Courtyard Ventures Fund II

    H@H Ep 79: Xan Wood, current FTMBA student at the Haas School of Business talks to hosts Ameya Purandare and Marissa Maliwanag about tech, venture capital, private equity, and much more. In this episode, we explore the Berkeley entrepreneurship ecosystem, the need for a venture fund dedicated to Berkeley Entrepreneurs, the formation of Courtyard Ventures Fund 2, and many other things.

     

     

    On Courtyard Ventures:

    "Courtyard is a fund run by MBAs and Berkeley students to invest in startups from Berkeley. The genesis of that is that students are very close to companies. We are in the ecosystem. We are able to meet with people and also know Berkeley itself… It’s not just MBA, the undergraduate level, Ph.D. level there are amazing companies coming out of Berkeley"

     

    On the entrepreneurial spirit in Berkeley:

    "Berkeley is a hotbed of innovation. You can tell just by walking around the Berkeley campus, it’s a huge amount of entrepreneurship and general people trying to do different things. If you just look at the kinds of developments happening in this area of the world, like nuclear fusion or other things … It highlights that there’s just a huge amount of stuff happening here." 

     

    On the need for a dedicated venture fund for Berkeley:

    "I read a report by a Stanford professor on the number of unicorns created by Haas MBAs. I think we’ve got 1.4 in a thousand vs Harvard’s 1.6. Berkeley as a public school is relatively siloed, the budget of Berkely per student is $65000 per year vs $235000 at Harvard and $400000 at Stanford. So as students in this ecosystem, we can really play a role to create a lubricant and help generate and push the startups forward."



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    27m | Feb 28, 2023
  • Around the Block: Nate Pola, Director of Programming @ Berkeley Blockchain Xcelerator

    H@H: AtB Ep 7 – In this episode, Nate Pola, Director of Programming @ Berkeley Blockchain Xcelerator and Defi Governance and Stakeholder Incentives Researcher talks to Paul Bryzek about his love for teaching, his interest in crypto, and how it culminated in him revamping the edX courses as the director of programming for Blockchain at Berkeley B@B. Nate and Paul further discuss all things blockchain from basics such as the unspent transaction output (UTXO) model, algorithmic stablecoins, and various macroeconomic principles which are used to design them to the recent Terra Luna collapse which shook the crypto ecosystem.

    Blockchain at Berkeley

    B@B EdX Course: Blockchain Fundamentals 

    UTXO model:

    Algorithmic stablecoins:

    Terra Luna:


    Notable Episode Quotes:

    Nate Pola on the UTXO transaction model:

    "It's just like making a piggy bank. And first it starts by creating smaller denominations of this Bitcoin. And so it transfers that half of Bitcoin to the intended recipient from there, it then takes the. Little piggy bank is the transaction fee." 


    Nate Pola on Algorithmic Stablecoins: 

    "Algorithm ones are the ones that don't have a direct one-to-one backing per se. And they instead are backed by computer science."


    Nate Pola on the Terra Luna Collapse: 

    "Terra had a large reserve of Bitcoin in store. And so Terraform labs sold about 3 billion in Bitcoin just to buy Terra and try to prevent the stable coin from collapse. And so all this was done with the intention to pump the new Terra Luna ecosystem and provide more reserves and more liquidity and value in the protocol."



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    27m | Sep 22, 2022
  • Dr. Kurt Beyer, Professor, Innovator, & Founder - A Lifelong Entrepreneur Helping Future Founders

    H@H: Ep 78 - Dr. Kurt Beyer, Haas lecturer specializing in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Navy veteran, and founder of the California Innovation Fund chats with host Paulina Lee on her last episode for Here@Haas (originally recorded in Spring 2022). Dr. Beyer shares his journey to Haas from flying planes to writing a book to his first start-up to teaching at Haas and everything in between. This episode is filled with great advice for business and life.


    On failure

    “Reinvent your notion of failure, because failure is so common when you're an entrepreneur.”


    On understanding purpose

    “This is the critical part of understanding your purpose.  Sometimes if we listen too much to the external world, where the external world is telling us, this is the best college to go to, this is the best job to work in. We can actually be pulled away from our purpose. So what your purpose is and what you're good at can be two different things.”


    On what it means to be an entrepreneur

    “It's a professional who loves change, who loves to innovate. And if sometimes they're the investors, sometimes they're the employee, and sometimes they're the co-founder. It's all being entrepreneurial.”


    Resource Links




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    44m | Sep 1, 2022
  • Around the Block: Nick Helgeson (FTMBA 2022) and Johnny Antos (FTMBA 2022)

    H@H: AtB Ep 6 – On this episode, Nick Helgeson, MBA 2022 and Johnny Antos, MBA 2022 a senior developer at Prysm Group (a consulting firm specializing in the economics of emerging technologies, particularly in the blockchain space), chat with Paul Bryzek. They share how they stumbled into the crypto ecosystem, the Web3 speaker series they created on the Haas campus, and what’s in store for the future of WEB3. This episode was recorded during the Terra Luna stablecoin collapse and Nick and Johnny provide their expert crypto perspectives. Tune into this conversation to learn more about exciting topics like token economics (tokenomics), stablecoins, and how to evaluate projects in the Defi space.

    This episode is particularly notable as it was recorded during the Terra Luna collapse on May 10th, 2022. During that day the price of Luna fell from $17.52 to $1.07 and was noticeably falling during the interview itself.

    WEB3 speaker series -Notion page

    Stablecoins - Definition

    Tokenomics - Definition

    Terra Luna crash

    Notables Episode Quotes:

    Nick Helgeson on the motivation for starting the web3 speaker series:

    “I wanted to help contribute in my own way. And so, I set out to build and deliver what's now UC Berkeley's first-ever web three course. It’s housed in the MBA, program, and MBA students can propose teaching or facilitating a one-credit class “

    Johnny Antos On the difference between Web2 & Web3:

    “The classic one is web2 was read, write, and interact. And now web three brings in read, write, interact still, but now you have verifiable ownership on a blockchain, which, you know, doesn't sound that game-changing maybe, but that, that opens up doors for interoperability and people actually owning their assets and moving it from one platform or one protocol to another.”

    Nick Helgeson on Solana and the trilemma tradeoff:

    “What's called the scalability, trilemma, and you're effectively trading off between, three things, on transaction throughput, the other one is decentralization. and then the third one is security. And so, in choosing a proof of history, consensus protocol, the Solana development team made a pretty conscious choice in optimizing for speed.”



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    41m | Aug 18, 2022
  • Around the Block: James Dai Blockchain Accelerator fellow

    H@H: AtB Ep 5 – Electrical Engineering & Computer Science (EECS) and Senior Product manager from Blockchain @ Berkeley James Dai chats with hosts Paulina Lee and Paul Bryzek and shares his blockchain expertise as a seasoned blockchain developer. His diverse experiences and collaboration with The Berkeley Center for Responsible, Decentralized Intelligence (RDI), in collaboration with Professor Dawn Song, led him to identify the need for reliable content authenticity on the web, and has started his own project and is recruiting co-founders. If interested feel free to email James at jamesmdai@berkeley.edu

    FakeNet AI – Detects synthetic (fake) media to protect users against attacks.

    Automated Market Maker (AMM) – Definition

    What is DAI? Description of MakerDAO and its cryptocurrency DAI.

     On Automated Market Makers (AMMs)

    “That basically allows you to take a token and then convert it to different tokens. So, if I take an Ethereum, I can convert it to Dai or vice versa. This AMM is really just a way to decentralize what is existing today as a traditional market maker.”

     On the Problem with Misinformation today

    “And so, I think we can all agree, misinformation is an issue today. How we're currently trying to solve it as rather algorithmic. Facebook, AI, created this deep fake detection challenge. And the best state of the art models can only accurately classify 65% correctly.”

     On Transparency of Legal Contracts on a Blockchain

    “So, you could basically make it where all the contracts are put on the blockchain as well, along with all the transaction flow. And so, you can follow legal entities on a blockchain throughout. And then track all their transactions.”



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    25m | Jun 22, 2022
  • Around the Block: Andrea Chang Partner at NGC Ventures

    H@H: AtB Ep 4 – Partner at NGC Ventures Andrea Chang chats with hosts Paulina Lee and Paul Bryzek and shares her industry insights as a crypto VC. Andrea is a graduating full-time 2022 MBA originally from Taiwan who moved to California to attend Haas. She previously lived in Singapore and worked at Goldman Sachs doing equity research for a few years. Later she joined NGC Ventures, one of the largest institutional investors of blockchain and distributed ledger technologies and has been a key contributor to several leading blockchain projects.


    On NGC Ventures

    “NGC ventures we started in mid 2018. We were the early investor in multiple public blockchains, such as Solana, Avalanche, PolkaDot, to name a few. We are also active in many defi metaverse deals.”

     

    On identifying Red Flags for startups

    “Timeline, like seems focus too much on the token access strategy rather than product building. And second is that often times it needs to rely on the market secondary market condition, which is hard to predict for all of us.”

     

    On Berkeley entrepreneurs raising rounds

    “First is to be very clear about your product and solution and your vision as is the positioning of your product in the wider industry space. And I think second is that to make the best use of the Berkeley environment, especially the talents part. Because Berkeley has so many talents, in undergrads, graduates, and MBA.”



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    32m | May 20, 2022
  • What Happens After Your MBA? with Robert Strand and Jenelle Harris

    Taking the time to come to Haas and do an MBA can be an incredible opportunity for exploration and introspection, especially for those of us that are interested in sustainability and social impact. But the task of figuring out what you want to do next and how you want to make an impact can feel daunting at times.

    With that in mind, we’ll be delving into the question: “how might we chart our path and discover our purpose” in this episode.

    We are first accompanied by Professor Robert Strand, also known as “Mr. Nordic.” He is the Executive Director of the Nordic Center and the Center for Responsible Business at Haas and tells us about his career history, what motivated the major pivots in his journey, and finding inspiration in the Nordic region.

    We then hear from Jenelle Harris, a Haas alum from the class of 2017. Jenelle is a Consulting Manager at Bridgespan, where she leads engagements with social impact organizations, and she is also a career coach here at Berkeley Haas, where she works with mission-driven leaders. We talk with Jenelle about how we can find purpose and meaning in our career search. 

    Episode Quotes:

    On work-life balance & boundaries (Jenelle)

    51:56 - When I'm working with folks in the social sector, that's like one of the biggest things we're working through is, what does it look like to do this work and to do so in a way that is nourishing and doesn't leave us wiped out. And how do we both hold like the sacredness and importance of this big, important work we're doing and take care of herself and feel permission to do that too.

    Some of the best advice Jenelle has received (Jenelle)

    31:09 - Pay attention to those things that just continuously light you up and spark anger, because that's a clue as to where you are best positioned to be a service.

    On always looking up to Berkeley (Robert)

    09:32 - I can't tell you how grateful I am that I have this opportunity to be at the University of California, Berkeley. A place I've revered all my life, even as a little boy growing up in middle of nowhere in Wisconsin, I looked to the University of California, Berkeley, and it is just a beacon educational opportunity for all, for the many people. And I firmly believe that. And that's in the idea of, it's inequality of opportunity that at its core is really, you know, we can call that that's the American dream. And I think that the University of California, Berkeley is an American dream factory. 

    Nordic vs. US ways of thinking about community (Robert)

    24:37 - Here is where I fear that we in the United States of America have developed a “me, me, me” mindset. Hyper selfish, hyper-focused on myself. We need what I would call in a Nordic context which is still, you have individual responsibility. There is still an importance for me, but they've recognized that if they build systems for the we, each of us “me” will benefit.

    Show Links:



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    57m | May 20, 2022
  • What Do Careers in Sustainability Look Like in The Real World? with Tracy Gray and Evan Wiener

    Once you have your MBS and certificate, how do you translate that knowledge into the working world and make some lasting change? Today we are joined by a couple of very special Haas MBA alumni that have developed their careers in sustainability with very different paths.

    We will hear from Tracy Gray who is a Haas MBA alumni class of 2007. She is the Founder and Managing Partner at The 22 Fund, the Founder of non-profit We Are Enough focused on educating women on how to invest, and Lead Partner at Porfolia Green and Sustainability Fund. 

    She tells us about her impressive career path that ranged from space engineer, band manager, mayoral advisor to finally entering the sustainability space, as well as her perspectives in the early stage impact investment.

    We will also be joined by Evan Wiener. He is also a Haas MBA alumni class of 2014 and currently Head of Circular Economy at H&M with past experiences in Nike and Adidas. He tells us about his work in corporate sustainability.

    Episode Quotes:

    Privileges and Environmental Intersectionality and Venture Capital (Tracy)

    13:21 - Especially in venture and private equity and climate investment. Once again, like crypto, like everything, they are not thinking intersectional or holistically about, you know, women and people of color experience the worst of these impacts more than anyone in the world yet we're not given the capital to come up with a solution.

    We know the solutions because we experience it. So we've got, you know, privileged white guys who are telling us, here's how you're going to fix your problem. And it's not the way it should work. 

    Different types of jobs in corporate sustainability (Evan)

    35:52 -  Thinking that you want to work in the world of corporate sustainability is still so, so broad, right? I mean, you could be a specialist in an analytics department, you could work in supply chain. You could be building products, working in innovation. You could be a materials expert.

    Circular economy (Evan)

    45:17 -  Sustainability is often I think most effective when you break down silos. When you connect dots between supply chain, logistics, product, innovation, marketing, and circular economy allows companies to break those silos down.

    It also allows companies to break down silos outside of their four walls. To think about how to collaborate on things like material innovation on supply chain disruptions, new manufacturing technology. Things that previously had been considered competitive, circular economy is saying, hey, we all need to solve these problems.

    Show Links:



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    53m | May 13, 2022
  • Around the Block: Graham Bode Founder of Two Grahams Capital

    H@H: AtB Ep 3 – Co-Founder of Two Grahams Capital, LLC Graham Bode, current Haas student soon to graduate, chats with hosts Paulina Lee and Paul Bryzek. Graham shares his Haas story, an entrepreneurial journey including quitting his cushy corporate job to pursue his own ventures full time. He initially was very skeptical of the entire space, but quickly became immersed with blockchain technology and its market dynamics. Graham is an expert at detecting inefficiencies in markets and capitalizing on them through automated arbitrage. He breaks down his strategies for dealing with the high risk and volatility in the crypto market by adhering to frameworks and fundamentals.

    On his journey and why apply to Haas

    “I ended up applying to Haas. It was the only business school I applied to with the intent to really delve deep on the blockchain side. So, for the two years prior to. Ultimately coming to Haas, I had fallen really deep down to the blockchain rabbit hole..”

    On losing passwords to your wallet

    “This is one of the costs of a system like this, a decentralized system that has no intermediaries means that the participant has Not just the right to retrieve their assets and to transact without any intermediaries. There's also a responsibility that comes with that.”

    On the educational opportunities through B@B

    “What I've learned is not to second guess what the signals are that the market's giving you. And one of those examples is NFTs.”



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    42m | May 10, 2022
  • Faculty Perspectives on Sustainability with Dave Rochlin and Panos Patatoukas

    In this episode, we talk to two faculty members who are driving the effort to integrate sustainability and social impact topics into the curriculum at Haas through both the core curriculum and electives.

    Dave Rochlin, the Executive Director of the Innovation, Creativity, and Design Practice at Berkeley Haas joins us first. He teaches a new applied innovation elective called Designing Tech for Good, recently featured in Haas News.

    He shares why he created this class, the role business leaders play in shaping public policy, and his ideas for the future of sustainability at Haas.

    We then sit down with Panos Patatoukas to hear more about how fundamental MBA classes like finance and accounting can transform the mindset of future leaders. Panos is an Associate Professor at Haas.

    Episode Quotes:

    Can accountants save the world? (Panos)

    36:51 - ​If I can find ways to make it easier for great people to get finance and execute their vision, and come up with great technology, I think that will be a success for me, right? But it's going to be really, the question is how do we get these incredible people to innovate. And I think that's really the role of management.

    Where do you see the US markets going in terms of disclosure? (Panos)

    34:23 - I don't want to make predictions, but you know, the trend that I see is more convergence as opposed to divergence in the way we think, across the globe. And I think that's driven by investors. I think the investor base is globalized and investors demand I think more clarity in terms of the way companies are reporting their activities and in terms of the way they fund portfolios and to make decisions. 

    What do you want students to take away from your course (Dave)

    22:51 - How to be more creative around problem-solving. We do have some design thinking built into the course and some systems thinking. And so, suspending the idea that you can solve the problem right away and thinking much more creatively about possibilities is something that we definitely put into the course and make sure the projects consider.

    Show Links:



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    54m | May 10, 2022
  • The Michaels Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Business with Kat Baird and Sanchita B. Saxena

    Haas has launched the Michaels Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Business to empower new leaders to create the economic and social transition to a climate-resilient, low-carbon, and equitable future.

    The Michaels Certificate in Sustainable Business will equip aspiring leaders to evaluate operational and strategic decisions using a sustainability lens.

    In this episode, we’ll hear from Kat Baird, the Associate Director of Sustainability at UC Berkeley Haas School of Business who will break down the Michaels Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Business for us. 

    We get into why Haas decided to launch this certificate, what Michaels Certificate aims to achieve, and the basic requirements.

    Then we move to focus on one of the eligible electives in the Michaels Certificate: Business, Labor, and Global Supply Chains, with Sanchita B. Saxena. She teaches that class and is the Executive Director at the Institute for South Asia Studies at UC Berkeley. 

    Sanchita will tell us more about this elective, three top takeaways that she wants students to walk away with after taking it, her background in the garment industry and what parts of that she brings to her class, and the role of business schools in sustainability. 

    Episode Quotes:

    Why start the Michaels Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Business?: Kat

    [00:03:27] - We want to make sure that whatever we're doing, that every student who comes to Haas at minimum leaves with a basic understanding of how climate change, social and environmental sustainability, and environmental justice are a key part of being a business leader today. So that's why we're really working as broadly as we can to demonstrate and to integrate the fact that sustainability applies across all areas of business: Marketing, finance and investment, human resources, leadership. 

    A glimpse into some of the curriculum: Kat

    [00:17:09] - As an elective, you could take Corporate Sustainability: Measuring and Reporting so that in the future, you would know how to share this information with your company or with your board. And then to finish it, you can have a hands-on learning experience where you take Clean Tech to Market to really work with renewable energy startups and create industry partnerships in the startup and in the energy industry for you as you move forward in your career.

    A bit on Sanchita's class Business, Labor, and Global Supply Chains: Sanchita

    [00:33:26] - We look at examples of different initiatives, but we also look at the limitations and why they are not necessarily as effective as we would expect. And then we go into looking at other factors that may be important when analyzing labor abuses or trying to rectify labor abuses, that go beyond private sector monitoring, and we look at the role of technology. 

    Show Links:



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    56m | Apr 29, 2022
  • Reshaping How Business Schools Teach Sustainability with Dean Ann Harrison and Michele de Nevers

    Welcome to Sustainability at Haas mini series, a podcast looking at how the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business is shaping the next generation of sustainable business leaders. In 5 episodes, we will share with you perspectives from the Dean, faculty, students, alumni, and staff about how UC Berkeley is developing sustainability in its core. 

    For our first episode, we have two very special guests: Haas School of Business Dean, Ann Harrison and the Executive Director of Sustainability at Haas, Michele de Nevers.

    In this conversation, we will be learning about Haas’ vision for leading the effort to reshape how business schools think and teach about sustainability, climate change, and the exciting courses and offerings at Berkeley Haas.

    Episode Quotes:

    Dean Ann Harrison on the MBA students:

    32:49 - One other thing I really love about our MBA students, and I should say our Berkeley Haas MBA students, is that they solve problems in real-time that are important for the world.

    That's where our students get their energy. That's why we need them. We need their courage to engage in these kinds of transformational changes that will save our planet. And the answers aren't just going to come from the government, they're not going to come just from the amazing research of our faculty. We're all going to have to work together on this.

    Sustainable values have been in business for centuries (Dean Harrison):

    09:54 - If you look back 100, 150 years ago, in fact, business leaders were not following a shareholder maximization model. They were really following more a model of stakeholder capitalism. They contributed to their communities. They clearly saw beyond the bottom line. They understood that if you want to be successful over generations, then you need to think about the wellbeing of your community, your nation, your people, and your physical environment and natural capital. They thought about inclusion. 

    Where is sustainability needed most? (Michele)

    34:18 - When students say to me, I want to work on sustainability, what should I do? I say everything. We do need new startups in renewable energy. We do need impact investments. But perhaps more importantly, we need our students to lead a transformation in existing legacy companies like oil and gas companies or consumer product companies or banks, and the financial sector or steel, cement, et cetera.

    There are so many opportunities for our students to make a difference, and there is a reason for optimism. And I think our students are among those reasons. 

    Show Links:



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    35m | Apr 22, 2022
  • Around the Block: Ratan Kaliani & Darya Kaviani - Presidents of Blockchain @ Berkeley

    H@H: AtB Ep 2 – Co-presidents of Blockchain @ Berkeley Darya Kaviani and Ratan Kaliani, some of the most connected blockchain students who can be found across campus, chat with hosts Paulina Lee and Paul Bryzek and share their extensive knowledge in the Blockchain space. Like a fire hose, these guests provide a fast stream of knowledge on tap! This episode is packed with blockchain fundamentals, evolution, startups, and how this innovative technology continues to define the rapidly changing web3 space.

    When to and not to use blockchain?

    • Do you want your system to be interoperable long term? Is decentralization a core component of your system? Do you want your data to be immutable?
    • There isn’t a point in having a blockchain system without giving ownership to your community at some level.
    • One of our former heads of consulting created this incredible flowchart and published it which essentially walks you through the process of narrowing it down to do I even need a database to if I should be using blockchain as that database.

    On innovative startups that have come out of Blockchain Accelerator

    “In all Accelerator companies of which there have been 85 total over the past three years since they started, I started back in January 2018, have raised over $420 million in follow on funding since joining the accelerator, the vast majority of the companies had raised no money before joining.” – Ratan Kaliani

    On the educational opportunities through B@B

    “We have an edX that has had over 200,000 students internationally, and we teach two classes here on. Our fundamentals course, as well as our developers’ course. And our objective with the education department is really to make blockchain technology as accessible to as many communities as possible around the world.” – Darya Kaviani

    On Launching B@B Grants

    “We just launched B@B Grants at blockchain.berkeley.edu/grants which we’re really excited about. We partnered with BitDAO, which is help funding the initiative. Our first wave is over $250k of dilutive and non-dilutive grants”. - Darya Kaviani



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    43m | Apr 17, 2022
  • Around the Block: Maura O'Neill, Haas Lecturer & Distinguished Teaching Fellow

    H@H: AtB Ep 1 - Professor Maura O'Neill chats with hosts Paulina Lee and Paul Bryzek to share her extensive expertise and knowledge in the Blockchain space, originating with her early work in mobile money payments as she served as Chief Innovation Officer under the Obama Administration. Listen as Professor O’Neill takes us on a journey through the web3 space, how geo-political events including the Russia-Ukraine escalation are impacting the future of blockchain.


    Maura’s 3 Big Trends in Blockchain:

    1. Supply Chain Transparency
    2. Crypto: “Bitcoin is to crypto what the US dollar is to global financial markets.”
    3. NFTs: “NFTs are the answer to the question, ‘how do we create new intellectual property protection schemes?’”


    On why business school:

    “You know what I'd encourage people, listeners, is I just knew in my gut, I didn't know why, but I knew that's where it should be. And I'd say it's the best decision I've ever made in my life.”


    On being appointed by Obama as the first Chief Innovation Officer:

    “The idea is the more stable and prosperous and fair and free, we can help other countries to be, and really build that capability, the less likely that we'll have failed states.”


    On why the Fed is taking a strong look at Stablecoins:

    “And I know we're having unprecedented inflation, but we're not having 10,000% inflation as they were in Venezuela, when their currency became completely worthless”



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    54m | Mar 24, 2022
  • INTRODUCING Around the Block @ Haas

    Welcome to Around the Block @ Haas, a Here@Haas podcast focused on all things Blockchain on Berkeley's campus. Meet your co-hosts, Paulina Lee and Paul Bryzek!



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    3m | Mar 17, 2022
  • Marissa Maliwanag, EWMBA 24 – Building Community Throughout Haas

    H@H: Ep 77 – Newly elected EWMBA Association EVP for Communications, Marissa Maliwanag joins host, Adam Ward on this week’s episode of Here@Haas. Marissa shares why her passion for serving her community led her to run for the EWMBA Association Executive Board, why intersectionality is so important to her, and why her vacation reading material was a sign that she should embark on the MBA.

    Episode Quotes:

    Marissa shares one of the lightbulb moments pointing her to the MBA

    “I was on vacation with some friends and a girlfriend pointed out that I was reading HBR [Harvard Business Review] to relax and have fun. And she said, ‘That's not how you're supposed to read on vacation!’ And so for me, recognizing that at that moment, if I'm still on vacation, relaxing and still trying to grow, I really needed to be in an environment that would foster that.”

    Why serving her local community is so deeply rooted

    “My dad had this saying growing up that charity starts at home. What he meant by that was before you go and try and change the whole world, can you do something just for our family?

    Can you do something for our local community that would make a difference? And that stuck with me. One example he used regularly was: Can you just call your grandparents? Like they would be so happy to hear from you and that doesn't cost you anything. So just something as simple as that. I moved to Berkeley for my MBA and this is my new home and I wanted to serve.”

    Why diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and justice is so critical to her mission

    “I’m mixed, so I’m half Filipino and mostly Italian. I grew up in California and I'm close with both sides of my family and I never felt different in my own family. But then when I went on to study sciences, then maybe I was one of the few women in the room, and then in business that happens again. Maybe you're the only woman and the only person of color in the room.

    And I think that I didn't recognize that that was unique or that I was doing that at such a young age until it was pointed out to me. What I always think about is if I'm going to rise, how can I help bring up others around me?”

    Show Links:



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    24m | Mar 7, 2022
  • Bob Wang, EWMBA 23 - The Road to C-Suite: Enabling a Problem-Solving Mindset

    H@H Ep. 76 - Bob Wang, EW MBA Student talks about his journey from the Czech Republic to Vancouver and explains how his problem-solving mindset has brought him this far. He recalls how his upbringing and seeing his entrepreneurial parents taught him about the freedom and limitations of being your own boss.

    Find out how he used these skills to start Legacy Advantage, a company he founded by identifying a problem and creating a solution that works twice as well. In this episode, Bob offers practical advice on how to use technology to streamline bookkeeping processes, hiring, salaries, and incentives. 

    Discover how he is helping others find the Road to the C-Suite with his peer mentoring and accountability group!

    Episode Quotes:

    Why Bob Wang chose Haas for his MBA

    [00:03:21] I really enjoyed it, but I want to learn how to run a larger and larger business, a hundred-person business, a thousand-person business, a 10,000 person business. And there are different skill sets that I would need along the way, so, that's why I chose Haas.

    Starting Legacy Advantage by identifying a problem he wants to solve

    [00:04:37] So, what was weird is that the business owner actually had to pay for the bookkeeping to be done twice. One, somewhat accurately done by the bookkeeper, and then once again, by the accountants to fix it up. So, there are inefficiencies there. And with cloud technology, you can make this very manual in a way, high-volume business profitable. So, that's what I did. I created a services business, specialized in the bookkeeping aspect, that was able to employ high professionals and use technology to increase their efficiency. So, my team members were 1.5 to two times more productive than my competitors at the time.

    Entrepreneurship is about having control and managing risks

    [00:06:34] Entrepreneurship is not about taking on risks. It's about managing risk. Learning how to mitigate risk. There are a lot of risks. Sure. But it's not like you should go and seek it. The entrepreneurs, try their best to mitigate it as much as possible. And the way I view that is, within entrepreneurship, if you start a business, you really have control over everything.

    Show Links:



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    41m | Jan 20, 2022
  • Alex Holden MBA 2023 (Part-Time)— Gaining Competitive Advantage in Sports and Entertainment Media

    H@H: Ep 75 - MBA student and BD and partnership lead at Visa, Alex Holden, was first introduced to professional sports by his grandfather, who gave him a Steve Young jersey. Since then, Alex knew he wanted to pursue a career in sports. As a child, he became fascinated with how players are chosen, traded, and the work that goes beyond brand partnerships. 

    Adam and Alex discuss Alex's love for professional sports, and how he has successfully carved out a successful career for himself in the field he enjoys. Listen in as they talk about competitive advantage, sports management, and how American sports reflect American culture. 

    Episode quotes:

    Haas’ MBA program stays true to its commitment to diversity

    [00:05:25] I find that there is such a great diversity of thought. For me, all these MBA programs where they are sharing and talking up how much diversity they had, this and that, I look at this stuff and say, “All right, let's see really what it's like”. I was really so happily surprised that Haas really put their money where their mouth is. I'm surrounded by not just people from different backgrounds, and different countries, and different experiences. Well, look at the same problem in completely different ways. In class, we have 70 different opinions to solve the same problem.

    Professional sports bringing American communities together

    [00:09:10] I can tell you working in sports, being around professionals, that's just such a small percentage of what's going on. Sports is about family. Sports is about bringing people together, lifting people up. In this day and age, I mean, what other things can bring communities with absolutely nothing together, just wearing the same colors for, you know, one particular day? Being surrounded by a community of like-minded, ambitious individuals who will push you to be the best vision of yourself was very attractive to me.

    American Football reflects the American mindset about teams

    [00:11:00] Now, the interesting thing about football is, it was played in the late 18 hundreds, but it really rose in popularity closer to World War I. And when you think about the game itself, the lines, right? The offensive line defense alliance pushing against each other, unfortunately, was very similar to trench warfare. But the interesting thing about the game itself is that a lot of the ideals are American ideals. It's the team first. We can do this together, if we work harder, stronger, faster. We can have competitive advantages if we are more strategic than the other. Teams can have these competitive advantages.

    The media and entertainment is a growing and ever-evolving industry

    [00:34:09] For me in my journey, my immediate step is, I'm trying to round out that profile by perhaps getting a little more onto the media side of sports. Or getting onto more of the media side of entertainment, media technology side. So video gaming is an industry, of course, to think about. Think direct to consumer companies. Think audio. Absolutely. I mean, the podcast industry is growing like crazy. You know, here we are. So much growth and innovation in that space.

    Show Links:



    Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/here-at-haas/donations
    30m | Jan 7, 2022
  • Kevin Truong, BS 22 - Overcoming Obstacles to Achieve Unstoppable Growth

    H@H: Ep 74 - When you're facing too many challenges in a competitive career market, what can you do to stand out? For Kevin Truong, a first-generation college student who came from an immigrant family, it's having a persistent attitude towards career and life as a whole.

    Kevin has always lived an interesting life since he was diagnosed with dwarfism at 4, which stunted his physical development. His condition may have given him limitations and attracted very few friends, but it only made him grow stronger and tougher internally. Through his focus and determination in his goals, he has unknowingly inspired many people at school and work.

    Kevin has earned two associate degrees alongside his high school diploma and scholarship grant. He's in his final year as a Business Administration student at UC Berkeley Haas and is pursuing a career in investment banking at Credit Suisse. 

    In this episode, Kevin opens up about his unique experiences and shares how he faced his greatest fear of getting employed after college.

    Episode quotes:

    On choosing Haas business program

    [00:9:14] What attracted me to Haas is the practical nature of what you learn. I want my education to be applicable to whatever I do in the future. And what I've learned at Haas has been pretty useful to my future job and career path. I got to experience firsthand beginning my freshman year the Haas community, which is very collaborative. There's a lot of people in Haas and UC Berkeley in general, doing very awesome things. Everyone here is very motivated, ambitious to pursue whatever they want to do. And being surrounded by a community of like-minded ambitious individuals who will push you to be the best vision of yourself was very attractive to me.

    On joining Capital Investments at Berkeley 

    I honestly did not expect to get into the club at all. I definitely did not have a perfect interview by any means, but I was interviewed by the president and a guy who had become my mentor in the club at that time. And I think he, later on, told me that despite my lack of finance experience, they really took my background into account. They knew I was first-generation and did not have any family that worked in business or finance before. Despite not knowing that much, they were impressed by how much I knew. They could tell that I was hardworking and it would contribute positively to the club. I'm really grateful for them taking a chance on me.

    How CIB helped Kevin prepare for the finance industry

    [00:17:33] We have a very well-developed financial education curriculum. We do pitches and invest in our members' pitches. And it's these experiences that really helped me hone my technical finance skills. If I hadn't gotten into this club, I would've had to learn all of this on my own time, and that would've been much more difficult. But because I went through this program that the club provides, and I'm surrounded by people who have had internships, who know about all these things, it really helped. I'm really grateful for this club taking a chance on me, and I do my best to give back and pass on what I know and help out a lot of the younger members.

    On mentoring first-generation students through Matriculate

    [00:20:36] Matriculate provides free college advising and mentorship to low-income, high-achieving high school students all across the nation. I act as an advising fellow, basically meet with them weekly, and help them with their college list, making a testing plan, helping them write their essays, helping them apply to scholarships. It's like walking them through the entire process because most of these students are first-generation like me and don't have any idea how. And for me, I just love giving back and helping people, especially those from similar backgrounds as me. 

    Show Links:



    Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/here-at-haas/donations
    33m | Dec 28, 2021
  • Yannell Selman, FTMBA 21 - Educator turned Female Founder

    H@H: Ep 73 - Yannell Selman chats with host, Paulina Lee to share her journey from coast-to-coast and how her previous venture inspired her latest company, Cultiveit. Listen to the end to hear this female founder’s tips for preventing burnout!


    This week’s episode is in partnership with two other clubs at Haas: Haas Venture Capital Club (HVCC) and Berkeley Entrepreneurship Association (BEA) who are hosting Pitch Nights as a way for student founders and investors to get hands-on experience. Yannell is the latest winner of best pitch!


    On why education:

    “I feel like education really forms our worldview and helps us understand what is true. And it's such a defining experience. One of my favorite things about working in education is that everybody has a story - relating to education - whether it's their own story, their parents' story. So it's just such a unifier in so many ways if you're able to access it.”


    On what Cultiveit is solving for:

    “We're realizing that burnout traditionally has been thought of as a medical problem. The burden has been on the individual as a patient to get better through self-care. And there's now a shift in thinking about burnout as a managerial problem and a team culture problem...The symptoms, we see it in individuals, but it happens at a company level, it happens at a team level. And so what are the managerial solutions to burnout? If you’re a leader, how can you prevent burnout?”


    Advice for our newest Haasies:

    “Do the thing you're not good at already. If you're a quant, it's so easy to just spend all your time in quant roles. And if you're a poet, to do all the soft skills classes and to really just feel like you're shining. There's value to that; there's a place for that. I don't think the MBA is the place for that. This is the place to go outside your comfort zone, try something new, fail a lot, and fall back on this incredible Haas community that we have. So don't do the thing that you normally would do; do the thing that you've always wanted to dip your toe into, but haven't.”





    Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/here-at-haas/donations
    46m | Sep 28, 2021
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