Course
Course Time: Monday, 6-7 pm
Course Description
This DeCal gives students an inside look at how modern consumer brands are built, from concept to customer testing. Students will form small teams and develop a real CPG startup idea, conduct customer discovery around campus, and build a product prototype or activation strategy by the end of the semester.
This 1-unit DeCal provides an applied deep dive into how modern consumer brands bring products to market. Students will learn how to design an effective go-to-market (GTM) plan, focusing on brand positioning, pricing, and distribution, and translate that strategy into a pitch. Through interactive workshops, case studies, and hands-on exercises, students will gain practical experience applying the Berkeley Method of Entrepreneurship to real consumer product ideas.
Objectives
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
Design a go-to-market plan for a new consumer packaged goods (CPG) concept, including brand positioning, pricing, and distribution strategy.
Develop and present a compelling startup pitch that effectively communicates the product’s value proposition and market potential.
Application
Instructor
Shruti Agrawal
Shruti Agrawal is a consumer brand builder and Go-To-Market (GTM) strategist with experience developing early-stage CPG concepts. Her work focuses on how modern consumer brands identify real customer needs, translate insights into differentiated products, and bring them to market through thoughtful positioning, pricing, and distribution. At Berkeley, Shruti has been deeply involved in entrepreneurship through SCET, and particularly interested in how strong consumer insights become a product people actually want to buy.
As an instructor, Shruti is passionate about demystifying the CPG startup process and making brand-building accessible to students from all backgrounds. She emphasizes learning by doing, the core essence of the Berkeley Method of Entrepreneurship, by turning ideas into tangible products or activations. Her goal is for students to leave the course not only with a polished pitch, but with a clear, repeatable framework for building consumer brands in the real world.
Shruti Headshot
Katelynn Wang
Katelynn Wang is a product-driven entrepreneur and designer with experience building early-stage consumer and digital products from the ground up. She has led and contributed to projects across CPG, EdTech, and consumer software, often owning the full lifecycle from insight generation and concept development to prototyping and launch strategy. Behind the scenes, Katelynn is also working on a CPG startup in the food and beverage industry.
At UC Berkeley, Katie has been deeply involved in entrepreneurship, design, and product-focused communities, where she has helped teams move from vague ideas to tangible, testable outcomes. As an instructor, Katie is passionate about making the startup and product-building process approachable and actionable for students of all backgrounds.
Katelynn Wang Headshot 2025