UC Berkeley Startup Guide by Silicon Valley Insiders

Charles Huang has established himself as a transformative figure in both the gaming industry and higher education. Born in Taiwan and immigrating to California as a young child, he completed his BA in Economics and Asian Studies at UC Berkeley in 1993, where a pivotal Chinese history class with Professor Wen-hsin Yeh sparked his interest in Asian Studies. After working in his family's auto parts import business, he co-founded RedOctane in 1999 with his brother Kai, initially as an online game rental service. The company pivoted to manufacturing dance pads before creating Guitar Hero in 2005, which became the fastest video game to reach $1B in sales and the world's best-selling game in 2007-2008. Following Activision's acquisition of RedOctane in 2006, he ventured into new territories, co-founding Blue Goji and establishing Indigo 7, focusing on music, fashion, and health tech projects. His commitment to education manifests through his role as a visiting lecturer at UC Berkeley's College of Letters & Science, where he teaches entrepreneurship, and through the Huang Scholars Program, which provides students with language study and internship opportunities in Greater China. As immediate past chair of the UC Berkeley Foundation and co-chair of the Light the Way Campaign, he continues to bridge the gap between academic excellence and industry innovation while fostering diversity and economic mobility in higher education.

Umair Khan serves as a Visiting Professor at UC Berkeley's College of Letters & Science and Founding Partner at Mentors Fund, where he combines his entrepreneurial expertise with a passion for inclusive education. After earning his SB in Mathematics and SM in Computer Engineering from MIT, he began his career at Intel, where he earned four patents before launching into entrepreneurship. His journey includes co-founding Clickmarks, which was acquired by Semotus, founding Folio3, a global software services firm, and creating SecretBuilders, an educational technology company. At Berkeley, he co-created "HUM 120: Entrepreneurship for All" with Charles Huang, specifically designed to bring entrepreneurship education to students in humanities and social sciences. As founding partner of Mentors Fund, he has overseen nearly 100 investments across two funds, focusing on transformative tech startups. His commitment to fostering entrepreneurship extends through his co-founding of OPEN Silicon Valley, a network supporting Pakistani-American entrepreneurs across eight global chapters. A 2008 Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute, Khan's impact spans multiple ventures, including Wordwalla (acquired by Morisawa) and advisory roles with companies like Roo.vet, Pyze, and Irisvision. His teaching philosophy emphasizes making entrepreneurship accessible to non-traditional founders, particularly focusing on bringing more women and minorities into the startup ecosystem.