Mission & Vision

The mission of BPEP is to foster entrepreneurship among UC Berkeley’s postdocs, visiting scholars and graduate students, through education, awareness, and hands-on opportunities. We connect aspiring entrepreneurs with mentors, resources, and partners. Situated in a vibrant business climate and with access to the greatest pool of postdoc talent in the world, BPEP catalyzes productive collaboration on scientifically complex challenges with lasting economic benefits.

The vision of the Berkeley Postdoc Entrepreneurship Program (BPEP) is to create an empowered UC Berkeley postdoctoral and graduate student community by providing them tools to translate their research to products via startups.

"Idea to Funding" Workshop Series

The Berkeley Postdoc Entrepreneurship Program organizes a monthly workshop series titled "Idea to funding". Since most postdocs and graduate students might potentially start their entrepreneurship journey, the workshop series will primarily focus on education and resources needed for the very initial stages of the journey. Check out the calendar and make sure you register for future events.
Bpep

Upcoming Events

2026 Spring

Event of the Month

PI to Founder: Turning Research into Companies

How Faculty/Lab PIs Can Build Companies and Maintain Balance

Thursday, May 21st, 2026

6:00 to 7:30 p.m. PT

Location:  

Bakar BioEnginuity Hub,

2625 Durant Ave, Berkeley, CA 94704

A conversation for scientific researchers exploring entrepreneurship

and translational research. Whether you hope to launch your own

company or join a faculty-led Startup, this workshop will provide

practical insights into navigating the path from lab to startup.

Topics include:

● Navigating the tech transfer maze

● Team formation and transitioning students/postdocs into startup

roles

● Managing conflict of commitment and conflict of interest

● The “money shift”: from federal grants to venture capital

Hear directly from researchers who have successfully bridged

academia, national labs, and entrepreneurship.

Register here

Past event Playlist

Bench to Market : Idea Evaluation and Commercialization for Product-market Fit (BPEP 2015)