UC Berkeley's 'The House' is the first to provide financial support and offer 7,000 square feet of office space for all Berkeley-affiliated student, faculty, and alumni entrepreneurs.
Two such entrepreneurs, Cameron Baradar and Jeremy Fiance, founded The House, a one-stop shop for everything a fledgling start-up founder could need: mentorship, capital, networking opportunities, and a work space, which will primarily support companies who have just started receiving investments from venture capitalists. Fiance was inspired to start this project after writing a senior thesis about UC Berkeley startups and realizing that Cal had no fund despite ranking as #2 in the world for venture-backed start-ups. So far, The House has raised $6M to incubate student start-ups.
Some innovative start-ups working with The House this year:
Eko Core allows clinicians to share heart sounds in your electronic health record via a secure mobile app.(Courtesy of Eko Devices)
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death worldwide, but many forms can be treated or prevented with proper detection. That's why Eko Devices created the Eko Core, a digital stethoscope that allows clinicians to share heart sounds in your electronic health record (EHR) via a secure mobile app. Eko COO Jason Bellet says that this flexibility makes it possible for patients with complicated conditions in rural areas to get a second opinion from a specialist.
Dray
Many of us have experienced the frustrations of waiting for a shipment that never arrived. Dray, a transportation-technology provider, wants to fix that. The Dray team noticed inefficiencies in the shipping process, particularly unnecessary manual work and heavy human resources; now, they assist many dispatching operations by sharing package location, reporting delays, and uploading documents in real-time through apps. By streamlining delivery and saving time on check-calls, emails, and paperwork, shippers can ensure that your local grocery or retail store will be fully-stocked for all your everyday necessities.
To balance his busy schedule, CEO Anthony Sutardja especially enjoys the student panels organized by The House. "It's great for connection and exposure, networking and talking to founders. Sometimes Jeremy brings in people who have already built businesses, such as founders from Caviar, so we can gain insight on how they built their business. It's really important that we get the networking resources that we need."
The Indoor Reality backpack, uncovered, is comprised of a camera, LiDAR sensor and thermal camera.(Courtesy of Indoor Reality)
Indoor Reality
Want to know how that sofa will look in your home before a big purchase? Get ready to do some interior design for your future abode without even stepping inside. Indoor Reality is a platform that allows property owners to remotely visualize floor plans for buildings. By tracking real-time occupancy, they are able to virtually navigate inside a building by panning, zooming and measuring 3D points. Founder and Berkeley engineering professor Avideh Zakhor says, "The House has been able to provide me and Indoor Reality with game-changing support in building the foundations for this new business."
// For founders, mentors, or investors email: build@thehouse.fund
