Berkeley SkyDeck is a global hub for entrepreneurship and one of the leading accelerators in the world. And Berkeley SkyDeck executive director Caroline Winnett helped launch the Berkeley SkyDeck Fund, which is a VC fund investing in SkyDeck startups that shares half of the fund profits with UC Berkeley. Winnett is a serial entrepreneur, angel investor, advisor, and board member of several startups and a frequent speaker on startups, accelerators, women in business, and consumer neuroscience.
Winnett received her MBA from the Haas School of Business at the University of California Berkeley, completed her undergraduate studies at Brown University, and earned a violin performance degree at the Indiana University School of Music.
Pulse 2.0 interviewed Winnett to learn more about Berkeley SkyDeck.
Caroline Winnett’s Background
What is Winnett’s background? Winnett said:
“One of the reasons why I love the technology industry is that you invariably meet people with non-traditional backgrounds. It’s one of the few sectors of the knowledge economy where a formal education in computer science or business is optional. I’ve met technology founders who started life in the humanities, the life sciences, or even working in the food service industry. There’s no single path into entrepreneurship or the tech sector. “
“My lifelong passion is music. As a child, my most bottomless ambition was to join a classical music conservatory. Making a living from my violin certainly had its allure. But there’s also a sense of achievement that comes with joining a conservatory. These are highly competitive spaces, more so than a spot at a top university, where as many as 200 people compete for the same spot.”
“I won admittance, and it was one of the proudest moments in my life. But it also taught me soft skills — things you can’t pick up in a classroom — that served me well in later life, mainly when I eventually decided to join a business school. Learning to play the violin taught me focus and self-sacrifice in the name of a future goal. These are things that I’ve applied throughout my career, and I attribute much of my success to my musical training.”
Favorite Memory
What has been Winnett’s favorite memory working for Berkeley SkyDeck so far? Winnett shared:
“This question is hard to answer, not because there aren’t any fond memories, but rather because there are so many. When I joined Berkeley SkyDeck, it was little more than an idea — something that conceptually made sense but required a lot of work to turn into fruition. From those early beginnings to today, I’ve encountered no shortage of challenges, and I’ve overcome them alongside a team I’m incredibly proud of.”
“Listing them exhaustively would take the best part of this interview, so here are some highlights. Initially, we had to formalize the relationship between UC Berkeley and Berkeley SkyDeck. This process involved countless hours of negotiation between the Fund, the university, and our legal counsels.”
“Berkeley SkyDeck has served as a model for how the education system can play an involved role in the innovation economy and as an example for other institutions to emulate. That itself is the highest praise one can imagine.”
“And I’m incredibly proud of our continued growth. Our first fund was $10 million. Our second fund was $60 million — beyond our biggest expectations. This demonstrates the soundness of our approach, and the future is looking bright.”
Significant Milestones
What have been some of the most significant milestones at Berkeley SkyDeck? Winnett cited:
“At the risk of stating the obvious, the actual inception of the fund was a significant milestone, not least because of the unprecedented nature of a university partnering with a venture fund. Creating the SkyDeck Fund required a lot of negotiating and legal wrangling, and we had to win the trust of the stakeholders involved. The SkyDeck Fund was one of the very first funds to pioneer the ‘shared carry fund’ model. The Fund will donate half of the fund carry (fund profits) back to UC Berkeley. This public-private partnership created an entirely new model for funding education.”
“We’ve expanded aggressively since then. As mentioned, our first fund size was $10 million. The next was $60 million. We’ve expanded our program to Europe, and our Berkeley SkyDeck, Europe program is already in its fourth cohort. Keeping with our goals for international expansion, we’ve also extended the Berkeley SkyDeck Partner Program to our partners in Asia. The Berkeley SkyDeck International Partner program allows our partners to send their investment companies to SkyDeck for three months of intensive mentoring and support, allowing them to become stronger and more viable businesses and giving them access to SkyDeck’s extensive network of contacts and alums.”
“The last milestone is also the most visual: The day we got our sign placed on top of our office building. It sounds trivial, but it represents something meaningful: that we are here, we’re making a difference, and we’re here to stay.”
Brief History
Could you provide me with a brief history of the Berkeley SkyDeck program? Winnett replied:
“Berkeley SkyDeck launched in 2012 as UC Berkeley’s first startup accelerator and incubator. Conceptually, it makes a lot of sense. Berkeley has a storied history in the technology industry, both in terms of the research it produces and the companies its alums go on to create. We wanted to take a more active role, not merely educating founders but also funding and advising them.”
“Companies in our cohorts get cash — and our fund has invested over $60 million. But they also get access to a vast network of advisors, alums, and mentors. Our demo days attract some of the most successful investors in the Valley. Our funding rounds have only grown over time, and our partners include some of the most high-profile and respected VC firms, including Sequoia Capital and Mayfield. “
Success Stories
After asking Winnett about SkyDeck success stories, she highlighted:
“We’ve had a lot of successes. One I’m incredibly proud of is DeepScribe, an AI-based health-tech company that helps doctors automatically transcribe their medical notes, freeing them to focus on delivering patient care. It raised a $30 million Series A last year, with investors including Index Ventures, Bee Partners, and 1984 Ventures.”
“That alone is an incredible accomplishment. I like this example because it aligns with Berkeley SkyDeck’s mission-driven philosophy. Technology can make the world a better place. Freeing doctors from tedious data entry tasks is an excellent example of that.”
Differentiation From Other Accelerators
What differentiates SkyDeck from other accelerators? Winnett affirmed:
“Berkeley SkyDeck is part of the University of California, Berkeley, giving us many advantages over other accelerators. First, we have access to the vast Berkeley network that spans the world and includes half a million alumni. We also access Berkeley’s incredibly talented students, world-class faculty, and top tier research labs. These act as a force multiplier for the companies in our cohorts.”
“As a university, our motivations also differ significantly. We have two equally important missions. First, to support the public education mission at UC Berkeley. Our shared carry fund will bring significant revenue to support this mission. Second, we aim to be the world’s top accelerator. Like any Berkeley program, we want to be the best. Not just good or great, but the best. And we are highly driven to help support companies with the potential to deliver meaningful societal change and those founders who, in many cases, started as students at UC Berkeley. We feel an immense obligation to help these founders realize their ambitions and find success.”
Future Goals
What are some of your future goals for Berkeley SkyDeck? Winnett pointed out:
“Our fundamental goal — solving the world’s biggest problems with cutting-edge technology — hasn’t changed since our inception. This is our guiding star. But we’re also focused on achieving fund returns for the SkyDeck Fund and therefore to our university. We are, after all, an accelerator.”
“We want to find the next breakout company, one that can find success and allow us to reap a meaningful return for campus through an IPO or acquisition even in the face of tightening economic conditions. With that kind of return, our fund can then re-invest into delivering cutting-edge education to UC Berkeley students and funding the next cohort of companies.”
Additional Thoughts
Any other topics to discuss? Winnett concluded:
“As we enter 2024, the tightening market conditions for early-stage technology companies — driven by high central bank interest rates and soaring bond yields — show no sign of abating. For founders trying to clinch their first seed or Series A round, they must focus on the fundamentals.”
“It’s not enough to have a slick pitch deck accompanied by some wildly optimistic revenue and customer acquisition projections. Founders must return to business and communications basics, pairing a sound business model with a clear company narrative that tells investors about the problem you want to solve and how you’ll solve it while also striving for sustainability and profitability.”
“I also want to touch on something I observed recently. I’ve been adamant in my belief that there’s no such thing as a “one-size-fits-all” founder. A single mom can be an entrepreneur just as much as a college dropout. In light of this, it’s worth examining a relatively new (and growing) demographic in the startup community: Lifelong founders.”
“This group is made up of people who build their first companies when still in high school, subsequently develop a taste for entrepreneurship, and spend the rest of their lives creating and growing their ventures. These people will never get a gold watch from an employer, and they’re perfectly content with that fact.”
“How can we identify those lifelong founders? How can we support them? And how will they change the world?”
