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Caroline Winnett

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Caroline Winnett
Alma mater
Occupations
  • Accelerator Director
  • Investor
  • Serial Entrepreneur
EmployerBerkeley SkyDeck
Known forNeuroFocus
TitleExecutive Director
Board member ofCal Performances, Embee Mobile

Caroline Winnett is the executive director of the Berkeley SkyDeck startup accelerator at the University of California, Berkeley.[1] She is a serial entrepreneur, civic activist, angel investor, advisor and board member of several startups, and a frequent speaker on startups, accelerators, women in business and consumer neuroscience.[2][3][4]

Education

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Winnett attended Brown University as an undergraduate and got her violin performance degree in 1984 from the Indiana University School of Music.[5][6] In 1990, Winnett earned her MBA from the Berkeley Haas School of Business.[7] In a 2018 interview, Winnett said that she created her own major in Entrepreneurial Operations because at that time there were no programs at Berkeley for entrepreneurs.[8]

Civic activism and Berkeley landmarks

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Save Berkeley Iceland

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In 2008, Winnett was a founder and spokesperson for Save Berkeley Iceland, advocating for the preservation of the 67-year old Olympic-sized historical ice rink in Berkeley, California.[9][10] She appeared on local NBC News to raise donations and also petitioned the city council.[11] Winnett and the group were able to raise $50,000 and advocated turning the rink into a nonprofit, but in the end were not able to save the rink from closure.[12]

SkyDeck signage petition

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In July 2017, Winnett successfully petitioned the Berkeley city council after a 10-month review process to approve signage on the tallest building in downtown Berkeley, formerly known as the PowerBar building or the Chase Building due to previous signage.[13] The highly-debated building signage named the building "SkyDeck" after Winnett's nonprofit organization, the Berkeley SkyDeck accelerator located on the penthouse floor.[14] Those opposed to the petition argued that the signage was "advertising" and not architectural, while advocates including Winnett argued that the name SkyDeck reflected the Berkeley spirit of innovation.[13] In the end the SkyDeck Building petition was unanimously approved by the council.[13]

Career

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NeuroFocus

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In 2006, Winnett co-founded startup NeuroFocus, a company that measures how consumers react to advertising using neurological measurements using EEG sensors.[15][16][17] Nielsen Holdings acquired NeuroFocus in 2011.[2][15][17]

UC Berkeley SkyDeck

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Winnett joined Berkeley SkyDeck as executive director in 2015, three years after its original founding as a mentoring space.[18][19][20] As the new director, Winnett added staff and worked to partner with the resources already in place at Berkeley.[7] With a colleague, Winnett helped to secure a $150,000 grant to build The Berkeley Startup Network platform so that startup resources at Berkeley would be accessible in one place.[21] In a 2018 interview with Xconomy, Winnett noted that the number of SkyDeck startup advisors had increased from 30 to 140, and that the penthouse accelerator had also taken over an additional floor of the high-rise building it was housed in, located next to Berkeley campus.[13][22][23]

In Spring 2018, Winnett and SkyDeck raised a $24 million oversubscribed venture fund from investors Sequoia Capital, Mayfield, Sierra Ventures and others.[19] Managed by Winnett's colleague Chon Tang, the Berkeley SkyDeck Fund began offering $100,000 each to startups in return for 5 percent ownership, beginning with a cohort of 20.[23][24] In a 2019 blog, Winnett expressed a goal that the Berkeley SkyDeck Fund would bring $1 billion in revenue to UC Berkeley in the future.[25]

Cal Performances

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Winnett also serves on the Board of Trustees for Cal Performances, a UC Berkeley performing arts organization.[26]

Public Speaking

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Winnett was the opening speaker at the 2020 Taiwan-US Innovation Forum, and urged companies in the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic environment to "focus on the basics", "don't be afraid to change course", and "look for new opportunities".[27] Winnett has also spoken at venues such as the Milan Innovation District and the Rhodes House at the University of Oxford talking about the future of work and innovation.[28][29]

References

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  1. ^ Sawers, Paul (April 1, 2020). "Startup accelerators forge ahead with new virtual programs". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on 4 August 2020. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Caroline Winnett Founder BrandNeuro". The Neuromarketing World Forum. NMSBA Events B.V. Archived from the original on 13 August 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  3. ^ Gevorgyan, Mane (October 19, 2019). "Berkeley SkyDeck Accelerator Program Seeks Armenian Startup Applicants". hetq. Archived from the original on 24 December 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  4. ^ "2019 WT2 Executive Leadership Caroline Winnett". YouTube. GlobalTechWomen. April 27, 2019. Archived from the original on 21 November 2020. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  5. ^ "Skydeck: Startup University with Caroline Winnett". Podomatic. Double Shelix Podcast. April 29, 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-11-06. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  6. ^ "Caroline Winnett". Wonder Women Tech. Archived from the original on 21 November 2020. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  7. ^ a b Girard, Kim (February 21, 2015). "SkyDeck's New Exec. Director Laser Focused on Startups". UC Regents. Berkeley Haas. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  8. ^ "An Interview with Skydeck's Caroline Winett MBA '90". CAA Announcements. Cal Alumni Association. September 17, 2018. Archived from the original on 18 September 2018. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  9. ^ Kristin Bender and Paul Burgarino (March 4, 2008). "Berkeley group in talks to buy ice-skating rink". East Bay Times. MediaNews Group, Inc. Archived from the original on 13 November 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  10. ^ Clarke, David (August 22, 2016). "Decaying Olympic-Sized Ice Skating Arena Is Sure To Make You Nostalgic". Standard News. Archived from the original on 17 November 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  11. ^ Cannon, Brent (11 October 2007). "Caroline Winnett on NBC for Save Berkeley Iceland". YouTube. Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  12. ^ DeFao, Janine (March 31, 2007). "Berkeley's Iceland rink closes for good". SFGate. Hearst. Archived from the original on 17 November 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  13. ^ a b c d Knobel, Lance (June 26, 2017). "Berkeley Council approves SkyDeck sign for downtown building". Berkeleyside. Archived from the original on 21 June 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  14. ^ Ma, Jason (May 14, 2013). "Student Entrepreneurship Is Humming At Elite Universities". Forbes. Forbes, Inc. Archived from the original on 20 June 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  15. ^ a b Penenberg, Adam (August 8, 2011). "NeuroFocus Uses Neuromarketing To Hack Your Brain". Fast Company. Mansueto Ventures, LLC. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  16. ^ "Caroline Winnett". Adotas. January 29, 2013. Archived from the original on 20 September 2017. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  17. ^ a b Bouryal, Kristie (May 26, 2011). "NIELSEN ACQUIRES NEUROFOCUSNIELSEN ACQUIRES NEUROFOCUS". Neilsen.com. The Nielsen Company (US), LLC. Archived from the original on 23 September 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  18. ^ Rinker, Brian (January 24, 2020). "Armed with a new venture fund, UC Berkeley's SkyDeck continues its mission". San Francisco Business Times. American City Business Journals. Archived from the original on 21 November 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  19. ^ a b Carolyn, Said (August 15, 2018). "UC Berkeley startup accelerator gets a boost from venture fund". San Francisco Chronicle. Hearst. Archived from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  20. ^ Heater, Brian (June 9, 2018). "Accelerating Berkeley Startups at SkyDeck". TechCrunch. Verizon Media. Archived from the original on 10 August 2020. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  21. ^ Snyder, Bill (February 16, 2017). "How Bears Breed Unicorns: Inside Cal's Vast Startup Ecosystem". CALIFORNIA Magazine. Cal Alumni Association. Archived from the original on 2020-08-07. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  22. ^ Tansey, Bernadette (June 27, 2018). "Largest Startup Class Yet Enters UC Berkeley's Expanding AcceleratorLargest Startup Class Yet Enters UC Berkeley's Expanding Accelerator". Xconomy. Xconomy, Inc. Archived from the original on 23 November 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  23. ^ a b Egusa, Conrad (September 15, 2017). "Look no further: Universities are funding startups to ensure students succeed". The Next Web. Archived from the original on 21 June 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  24. ^ Legatt, Aviva (January 7, 2019). "5 Amazing College Incubators". Forbes. Forbes Media, LLC. Archived from the original on 21 June 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  25. ^ Winnett, Caroline (March 18, 2019). "The Future of Education Needs New Funding Models. UC Berkeley Has One". Medium. Archived from the original on 30 November 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  26. ^ "About: 2019/20 Season Board of Trustees". Cal Performances. Cal Performances, UC Regents. Archived from the original on 14 August 2020. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  27. ^ Lin, Zhaoyi (September 15, 2020). "台美新创论坛：柏克莱加速器总监勉新创趁疫情期间打好基本功" [Taiwan-US Innovation Forum: Berkeley Accelerator Director Mian Xinchuang takes advantage of the epidemic] (in Chinese). DigiTimes. DIGITIMES Inc. Archived from the original on 19 November 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  28. ^ NOVEMBER 15/16 2019 MIND ADVISORY SUMMIT SECOND EDITION (PDF). lendlease. November 11, 2019. p. 2. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 November 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  29. ^ "3rd Annual Rhodes Ventures Forum From Idea to Impact: Building Sustainable Venture Ecosystems". Rhodes Trust. The Rhodes Trust. Archived from the original on 11 August 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
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