Advisors

The Berkeley Ventures team of advisors is experienced in all areas of running a startup. From developing and launching products, to structuring business partnerships and all the way through to your final liquidity event.

Barak Berkowitz is an expert at the social web, consumer marketing and community building. He was Chairman and CEO of Six Apart where he grew it to a premier status in the world of blogging with a community of over 40 million. Before that he was with Apple, Logitech and Infoseek. He also cofounded and led Omnisky, a mobile services company, through multiple VC rounds and its IPO raising over $250 million.

Jeff Braun Founder and CEO of Maxis (Sim City and the Sims game franchise). A 20-year game industry veteran, Jeff Braun co-founded Maxis with Will Wright in 1987. Under Jeff's leadership as Chairman and CEO, Maxis became world famous for its Sim branded video games. Maxis went public on the NASDAQ exchange in 1995 before selling to Electronic Arts in 1997. Jeff remained with Electronic Arts as SVP North American Studios until 2000. Since then, Jeff has been a mentor and partner for a number of interactive media startups.

Chris Doner is the founder and executive director of Berkeley Ventures. With over 20 years of experience working with clients such as Microsoft, Apple, Sony and many Silicon Valley startups, Chris offers insight into common problems encountered by startups and how to efficiently run a small company and develop technology products. He is also founder and CEO of Access Softek Inc, a global software development company that for the past twenty years has earned a solid reputation for satisfying the most demanding technical needs of software companies in America, Europe, and Asia.

Dean Frost is currently the owner and CEO of a manufacturing company. He was previously the CEO of a venture funded web company called StockPower. Prior to StockPower, Dean founded Frost Capital Partners and its subsidiaries, Frost Capital Europe and Frost & Berman, Inc. Under Dean's leadership, Frost Capital became the dominant investment bank worldwide in mergers and acquisitions for the education and entertainment software industries. Dean advised clients including Microsoft, SegaSoft, Sony, NewsCorp, Matra Hachette, Ameritech and Viacom/Virgin. Dean graduated magna cum laude from University of California at Berkeley, and has an MBA from the Harvard Business School.

Joseph Lee is Director of Business Development at Berkeley Ventures and is responsible for managing relationships with investors, industry professionals, and our entrepreneurs. Prior to Berkeley Ventures, Joe was Chief Operating Officer at Power2Switch, an online energy brokerage service in Illinois. Joe also worked at both Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank as an IT Manager, where he managed the design and development of enterprise wide, fail-safe trading systems.  Joe also founded BookHotelRates.com and has an MS in Computer Science from NYU, and a BA in Music - University of California, Berkeley.

Jonathan Morgan is founder and managing partner at Rostrevor Partners, a strategic consulting services company which provides services to early stage growth companies. Jonathan was also president and CEO of First Virtual Communications. Prior to that, Jonathan was Managing Director at Prudential Volpe Technology Group where he was involved in providing the overall direction and management to the Group's west coast corporate finance origination and transaction activities. Mr. Morgan was also Managing Director and Head of Investment Banking Operations at Sutro & Co. Incorporated and also founded the M&A practice at Montgomery Securities, which was responsible for completing transactions having an aggregate value in excess of $7 billion.

Anthony Patek is an attorney in private practice. Formerly he was with Cooley Godward, a premier Silicon Valley law firm, where his practice was focused on intellectual property with an emphasis on patent litigation. Mr. Patek handled cases related to all sectors of industry, with a focus on biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. Prior to obtaining his Juris Doctorate, Mr. Patek worked as a drug development consultant serving biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Mr. Patek also worked in research for Sequus Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Patek earned his J.D. from University of California, Berkeley (Boalt School of Law). While at Boalt, Mr. Patek served on the Moot Court Board as a director of the appellate advocacy program. He was also awarded a Barbee fellowship in health law while at Boalt Hall. Prior to obtaining his J.D., Mr. Patek obtained a M.S. in chemistry from Stanford University. Mr. Patek also obtained a joint B.S. degree in philosophy and biochemistry from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, honors college, where he graduated cum laude.

Julio Ramirez is Director of Business Development at Berkeley Ventures and works to promote the Berkeley Ventures offering around the world. Prior to Berkeley Ventures, Julio was VP of Business Development at Power2Switch, an online electricity broker service in Illinois. Julio has several years of experience in management and strategy consulting at Accenture, where he was responsible for the deployment of enterprise solutions to multiple Fortune 500 companies. Julio has a degree in Business and Economics from the University of California, Berkeley.

Joel Serface joined Kleiner Perkins as an Entrepreneur in Residence in 2008 as part of its partnership with the US Department of Energy. Prior to joining KPCB, Joel was the Director of the Austin Clean Energy Incubator where he helped launch 5 renewable energy companies. In his short time in Austin, Joel also launched the CleanTX Foundation, served as the Chairman of the Austin Clean Energy Council, and was a member of the Governor's Competitiveness Council on Energy. Joel previously served as a Partner at Eastman Ventures leading its clean technology and nanotech investments and Sierra Ventures where he made its first clean technology investment. Joel received his B.S. in Chemical and Environmental Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin and his MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management where he received the Patrick McGovern Award for Entrepreneurial Leadership for starting the first MIT Venture Capital Conference.