Blog Posts

Hello PBL!

Firstly, let me introduce myself.  I am Brian Wong, current Consulting Chair and previous Executive for PBL.  I’m here today, though, as Cofounder of a startup company I created: Spondevu.  Spondevu allows you to see real time events your friend networks are participating in all around you, such as people getting lunch in an hour, having a studying session at Moffit later in the day, and more!  We were recently selected to represent UC Berkeley at the World Mobile Congress in Barcelona, and will be presenting to a panel of Venture Capitalists, competing against a host of companies and schools from around the world at the end of this month.

Tomorrow, Wednesday, at 8pm in 151 Barrows (near the end of the Officer Meeting), I will be giving a presentation on Entrepreneurship and on what it takes to transform an idea into a real business.  Much of what I will be presenting will come from mentors, professors, and advisors that have helped me get to where I am today, including Jon Burgstone (pictured below), CEO and co-founder of Supplier Market, Ken Singer, CEO and co-founder of AppCentral, and many others.  Even if you don’t plan on going the entrepreneurial route, much of what I will be talking about is applicable to working for and having a successful business on all fronts.

Right afterward, Winston Hsu, another co-founder, and I will be presenting our exclusive VC pitch for Barcelona to you guys.  You’ll see how to pack the entirety of a business into just a few short minutes, and we’ll be open to questions afterward as well.  Plus, I think there just may be a prize given away for one lucky attendee.

On top of all that, we have just launched an exclusive beta version of Spondevu with a few select organizations (such as PBL, Berkeley Consulting, etc. [many committees have already been added!]).  At the conclusion of the presentation, if you have an iPhone or Android, we will let you into the Beta so you can see and join meetups happening all around you, such as the study session I’m in right now, or the Late Night trip eight of us took yesterday.

Too Long, Didn’t Read?

Tomorrow, Wednesday, at 8pm in 151 Barrows will be a Presentation on Entrepreneurship, Starting a Business, a VC Pitch and more!  Come check out the winning application for UC Berkeley being presented at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next week!

SAN FRANCISCO FINANCIAL DISTRICT -- This past Friday (2/17), our EXcellent EX group organized a company tour to Northwestern Mutual where fellow PBL members got a chance to experience what it's like to work in one of the large companies in downtown SF.

We took BART and arrived at Montgomery station a little before 3 PM. Next, we walked two blocks, into a tall building and went up to the 18th floor where the company was located.

The company representatives showed us around the company on the 17th and 18th floor and then we had a presentation from a current fulltime worker, Tushar, who graduated from Cal in 2009.

Northwestern started as an insurance company in Milwaukee and now it has grown large in size and offers various financial services.

This upcoming summer, Northwestern is offering an amazing internship program which is ranked "One of America's Top Ten Internships."

"As a financial representative intern, you are trained and mentored by industry veterans who know what it takes to succeed. You learn how to run a business from one of the most respected companies around. And you test drive a promising career where you can achieve your goals and have an impact on people’s lives."  ---www.northwesternmutual.com

So definitely check out their website www.northwesternmutual.com if you are interested.

The tour ended around 4:30PM in the afternoon.

Did we learn a lot? Yes.

Did we learn a lot and at the same time had fun? Yes.

Did we learn a lot and at the same time had fun and got free food/drinks?

yesssssssss

---Publications. Out.

Hey everyone! 

I came across an advertisement for a great event that is coming up!! It is called the 2012 Berkeley Asia Business Conference which is the largest student-run event on the West Coast that is about Asia. The theme this year is "The Emerged Market - Epicenter of growth, consumption, and innovation". If you're interested in business and innovation in Asian countries then I really think you should check it out! Not only will there be phenomenal keynote speakers, but there will be great networking opportunities. These may help you get great opportunities in the future!!

Here are need-to-know details if you're interested:

Who: YOU!!

What: GREAT OPPORTUNITIES

When: Saturday March 17th from 10-6

Where: Haas School of Business

How much: Early bird tickets are $20 right now. You have until March 3 to get them for this price! So act now!!

Go [ HERE ] for more information and to sign up!!

I hope to see you all there!!

Hello all! 

Hope your midterms and everything are going well and that you're not too stressed out! Maybe you just need to relax a little and maybe even get to know a professor or two!

Our second Faculty Dinner will be on Tuesday February 21st at 6PM with Haas Professor of Finance, Terrance Odean. He has a BA in Statistics, MS in Finance and PhD in Finance, all from UC Berkeley. His interests and current research include Behavioral finance, Investor behavior, Investor welfare and Influence of individual investors on asset prices. Professor Odean has been teaching at Berkeley since 2001. To find out more about him go  [ HERE ]!

This time, Faculty Relations is doing something a little different in terms of signing up for this event! We will be doing a Google Form which you can access with this [ LINK ]. It is simple and easy so fill it out and submit by THIS SUNDAY at 11:59 PM! We will use this to pick people based on their answers. We want to make the dinners more fair in terms of attendance.

*The location for the dinner has not yet been decided but it will be close to campus. We will keep you updated

Hey PBL!

Do you love basketball? Or Winning? Or Fun? Then take this flier! Just kidding.

Ivan Zhou, myself, and a group of alumni are part of an IM Basketball team aptly name PBeLite. Last semester we had a 72% win percentage and ended up second in the league. This semester though, we're going for a full sweep!

Today's game is at 8:15pm on the bottom courts of RSF against the team Space Jam. Definitely come check us out if you have time. Or, if you'd like to join the team contact me (my email is on the website). Now let the LINSANITY continue!