How to Build the Future

1 founder. 30 students. Every week.

Apply for Fall 2023 »

Due September 3, 11:59 PM PT

How to Build the Future (UGBA 198) is a 2-unit DeCal that hosts founders, investors, and innovators for intimate, no-bullshit conversations that inspire students to build companies.

A class with Ev Williams, co-founder of Twitter and Medium.
A class with Ev Williams, co-founder of Twitter and Medium.

Format

Startups are mired in uncertainty. Building one is an experience of feeling your way through the dark—relying on rules of thumb, advice, and instincts to do the right thing at the right time. In Build the Future, students learn how to navigate this uncertainty by hearing from those who’ve done it before.

We give guests the flexibility to share their stories and advice in whatever format they choose, so each session is unique. But generally, there’s a 15 minute fireside chat for the guest to share their journey followed by a freeform conversation with the class.

Classes aren’t recorded, which we’ve found encourages guests to be more candid and students to be more engaged.

In The Press

The best Silicon Valley class money can’t buy

The San Francisco Examiner

‘Dream, build and start up’: Exploring UC Berkeley’s culture of entrepreneurship

The Daily Californian

Origin stories at The House

Berkeley Engineering

In undergrad startup class, students learn to build the future

Berkeley News

Jimmy Liu and Zuhayeer Musa build the future

Berkeley EECS News

Past Guests

NameCompanySemester
Qasar YounisApplied IntuitionSpring 2023
Jonathan HsuTribe CapitalSpring 2023
Deepika BodapatiAthelasSpring 2023
Amjad MasadReplitSpring 2023
Jaleh RezaeiMutinySpring 2023
Nashilu MouenThe Browser Company of New YorkSpring 2023
Vinay HiremathLoomSpring 2023
Reed McGinleyStytchSpring 2023
Mark GaineyStravaFall 2022
Delian AsparouhovVardaFall 2022
Ev WilliamsTwitter, MediumFall 2022
Eric TarczynskiContraryFall 2022
Ivonna DumanyanHippo HarvestFall 2022
Immad AkhundMercuryFall 2022
Ilya AbyzovForwardFall 2022
Pejman NozadPearFall 2022
Ted ChaiSonnetFall 2022
Lucy YangStaaxFall 2022
Luana Lopes LaraKalshiFall 2022
Alex LiebermanMorning BrewSpring 2022
Andrew ChauBoba GuysSpring 2022
Sean BreckerHeadspaceSpring 2022
Jesse PujjiGateway X, AmpushSpring 2022
Gagan BiyaniUdemy, MavenSpring 2022
Milana LewisStemSpring 2022
Maya FraiGreylockSpring 2022
Steph SmithThe Hustle, a16zSpring 2022
Aaron RasmussemMasterClass, OutlierSpring 2022
Jack ContePatreonFall 2021
Justine MooreShopCanal, AcceleratedFall 2021
Kevin TanSnackpassFall 2021
Jason LopateckiArize AIFall 2021
Aparna DhinakaranArize AIFall 2021
Josh FabianMetafyFall 2021
BeezUSCFall 2021
Ric BurtonBalanceFall 2021
Joanna ShanMonetFall 2021
Trisha BantigueQueenlyFall 2021
Vrinda GuptaSequinFall 2021
Jesse DraperHalogen VenturesFall 2020
Alicia LauKleiner PerkinsFall 2020
Nick MolnarAfterpayFall 2020
Sidra QasimAtomsFall 2020
Kim MalekSalt & StrawFall 2020
Michelle ZatlynCloudflareFall 2020
Sabena SuriBoxfoxFall 2020
Cameron SadlerNew CraftFall 2020
Dylan FieldFigmaFall 2020
Michael SeibelYCFall 2020
Francesco WiedemannKyteFall 2019
Amit KumarAccelFall 2019
Eli LuberoffDesmosFall 2019
Alex MacCawClearbitFall 2019
Malika ChawlaEat MakhanaFall 2019
Tracy SunPoshmarkFall 2019
Nicole QuinnLightspeedFall 2019
Tina SharkeyBrandlessFall 2019
Cameron BaradarThe HouseSpring 2019
Pamela Webber99designsSpring 2019
Ben HermanJumpstartSpring 2019
Liz KlingerLioness HealthSpring 2019
Angie CarilloHigia TechnologiesSpring 2019
Karen TaylorOnederfulSpring 2019
Lynn PerkinsUrbanSitterSpring 2019
Joel FloryVSCOSpring 2019
David CramerSentrySpring 2019
Preston SilvermanRaiseMeSpring 2019
George MathewKesprySpring 2019
Paul ColettaUrban RemedySpring 2019
Pejman NozadPear VCSpring 2019
Elizabeth IornsScience Exchange, YCFall 2018
Matthew PrinceCloudFlareFall 2018
Nagraj KashyapMicrosoft VenturesFall 2018
Andrew KortinaVenmoFall 2018
Patrick LeeHobo Labs, Rotten TomatoesFall 2018
Ben HermanJumpstartFall 2018
Evan SpiegelSnap Inc.Fall 2018
Chad RigettiRigetti Quantum ComputingFall 2018
Jeremy BlalockProton AppSpring 2018
Richard HenriksonOngo ScienceSpring 2018
Abboud ChaballoutDiagnossSpring 2018
James CrawfordOrbital InsightSpring 2018
Linden TibbetsIFTTTSpring 2018
Jini KimNuna HealthSpring 2018
Marshawn LynchNFL, Beast ModeSpring 2018
Erin WadeHomeroomSpring 2018
Patrick CollisonStripeSpring 2018
Sarah GuoGreylock VCSpring 2018
Michael SeibelY CombinatorSpring 2018
Jeremy FianceThe HouseFall 2017
Hriday KemburuWildfireFall 2017
Sonia SharmaOrbFall 2017
Rick LingBlitz SportsFall 2017
Vincent SunSEEDJAMFall 2017
Kevin HartzEventbriteFall 2017
Mar HershensonPear VCFall 2017
Charlie CheeverQuoraFall 2017
Prakash JanakiramanNextdoorFall 2017
Eric FengPackagdFall 2017
Kenneth LinCredit KarmaFall 2017
Jini KimNuna HealthFall 2017
Phil LibinEvernoteFall 2017
Jason WangCaviarSpring 2017
Holly LiuKabamSpring 2017
Amy HerrHerrlabSpring 2017
Kelly GardnerZephyrus BiosciencesSpring 2017
Justin KanTwitch, AtriumSpring 2017
Jack McCauleyOculusSpring 2017
Peter BoyceGeneral Catalyst PartnersSpring 2017
Ryan PetersenFlexportSpring 2017
Marc TarpenningTeslaSpring 2017
Jessica MahinDineroSpring 2017
Josh ElmanGreylockSpring 2017
Vinod KhoslaKhosla VenturesSpring 2017
Joseph GonzalesTuriSpring 2017
Maran NelsonClara LabsSpring 2017