The Sweet Reward of Taking A Risk

By Wendy Zeng / March 19, 2026 / Comments Off on The Sweet Reward of Taking A Risk

“I congratulate you.”  “Well done. You’ve found the fifth Golden Ticket. May I introduce myself.”  You may recognize this line from Mr. Slugworth, the business rival to Willy Wonka.  At Berkeley, SCET invites you to a game. Care to play?  Every fall, SCET hosts the SCET Innovation Fellows Challenge where students are given challenges designed…

How to get the benefits of traveling while staying on campus

By Wendy Zeng / March 18, 2026 / Comments Off on How to get the benefits of traveling while staying on campus

“Where are you from?” If you ask a Berkeley student, half the time, the response will most likely be “Norcal.” or “Socal.” A nearby suburb. A freeway exit you pass by all the time. But then there are people whose response to that question might be Prague, Bangkok, Mohali, Riyadh, Otaniemi, Accra, Berlin, or Madrid.…

I came for a lecture. We made tofu.

By Wendy Zeng / February 27, 2026 / Comments Off on I came for a lecture. We made tofu.

“Can you pass the tofu press?”  Tofu press? Isn’t this a class?  Yes, it is. But this is a class taught by Minh Tsai.  Growing up in Vietnam eating tofu with his grandfather inspired Minh to create Hodo Foods, whose plant-based, organic tofu are now found everywhere from Chipotle to Erewhon to Michelin-starred restaurants.  Minh…

Your Personalized Startup Catalyst

By Wendy Zeng / February 5, 2026 / Comments Off on Your Personalized Startup Catalyst

This is not a class you simply sit through. The Startup Catalyst course is for those looking for an immersive, hands-on entrepreneurial experience. Whether you’re looking to scale your current startup or build from scratch, the course adapts to meet you where you are. It is built entirely around your journey so that every version…

The best thing an entrepreneur can do is leave their city

By Wendy Zeng / February 4, 2026 / Comments Off on The best thing an entrepreneur can do is leave their city

You haven’t really met yourself until you step into a new environment. You don’t realize it, but it starts to challenge and change you. As you move through it, the city stirs something within you. It pulls you in, wakens your senses, and you have an electric desire to create. A city that inspires. Where…

Mark Cuban: Disrupting Industries, Finding Opportunities, and Navigating Your Twenties in an AI World

By Wendy Zeng / December 23, 2025 / Comments Off on Mark Cuban: Disrupting Industries, Finding Opportunities, and Navigating Your Twenties in an AI World

Meet Mark Cuban, owner of Dallas Mavericks, co-founder of Cost Plus Drugs, and an investor (or “shark”) on “Shark Tank,” an ABC television series featuring entrepreneurs pitching their companies to a panel of angel investors (“sharks”) in hopes of gaining investment.  SCET welcomed Mark Cuban as a guest speaker in the A. Richard Newton Lecture…

Perplexity Decoded: Lessons from the Founder/CEO and his PhD Advisor

By Wendy Zeng / May 13, 2025 / Comments Off on Perplexity Decoded: Lessons from the Founder/CEO and his PhD Advisor

Aravind Srinivas is the CEO and co-founder of Perplexity, a rapidly-growing startup redefining how we consume and synthesize information through AI. As a Berkeley PhD, surrounded by world-class labs and collaborators, he began shaping the vision that would become Perplexity: a smarter, more intuitive way to interact with information. When Aravind first arrived at UC…

SCET x Purpose Academy: Inspiring Global Youth Entrepreneurship

By Wendy Zeng / April 30, 2025 / Comments Off on SCET x Purpose Academy: Inspiring Global Youth Entrepreneurship

In mid-April, Berkeley’s Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology (SCET) welcomed a cohort of high school students from across India through the 1M1B (1 Million for 1 Billion) Purpose Academy. A global partner of SCET since 2022, 1M1B aims to empower youth through purpose-driven innovation.  Over the course of a week, these students immersed themselves…

From SCET Student to Teacher: Luke Kim’s Journey from Digital Nomad to Solopreneur

By Wendy Zeng / April 16, 2025 / Comments Off on From SCET Student to Teacher: Luke Kim’s Journey from Digital Nomad to Solopreneur

Luke Kim is a course creator, entrepreneur in residence at Alchemist, columnist at Times of India writing about AI, partner at Truth Cartel, a marketing agency specializing in Web3-and new teacher at UC Berkeley Startup Studio Luke’s journey began at UC Berkeley’s Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology (SCET). As an eager 18 year old,…