Berkeley Entrepreneurship Laboratory (formerly Business Incubator)

In 1997, supporters of the Lester Center established a business incubator for start-ups created by current Haas School students and recent graduates. Located near the business school, the incubator is designed to provide office space and advanced telecommunications capabilities to promising new ventures that have progressed beyond initial planning.

The Lab provides an intense educational and operating environment where real companies formed by Berkeley students, alumni, faculty and researchers can rapidly work through their experimental phase, form and flourish. The Lab provides office space and network services and works in partnership with the Lester Center to provide a complete entrepreneurial environment conducive to the fast-paced start-up world. Companies admitted to the Lab can gain access to the Lester Center’s mentorship group, receive introductions to appropriate capital sources, attorneys, accountants and other service providers, recruit interns from Berkeley’s programs and participate in entrepreneurial environment of campus at an off-campus location.

Located near the business school in the basement of the Bancroft Hotel, the non-profit Lab receives funding from advisers and friends and is able to provide its services for free to its companies. Notable graduates of the Lab include ZipRealty, Timber Technologies, Dust Inc. and World of Good, among many others. The Lab is the successor to the Berkeley Business Incubator founded in 1997.

If you are interested in getting more information about the Lab or applying to receive space, please contact David Charron at davidecharron@yahoo.com.