Startup Campus: The Stories Behind What We Build

Featuring Mike Alvarez Cohen, Darren Cooke, and Laura Hassner, in conversation with Missy Martin.

What does it take to turn an idea into something that changes the world?

Behind every successful startup is something larger than a brilliant idea: a web of relationships, organizations, and serendipitous encounters that makes innovation possible.

Join us at Clio's for a conversation with Mike Alvarez Cohen, author of Startup Campus and UC Berkeley's Director of Innovation Ecosystem Development; Darren Cooke, Berkeley's Chief Innovation & Entrepreneurship Officer; and Laura Hassner, Strategic Advisor to the Chancellor and Executive Director of Innovation & Entrepreneurship.

Moderated by Missy Martin, Berkeley Haas MBA '26 and founder of Cat Eye Collective, the conversation explores how Berkeley became a global center for entrepreneurship—and what it takes to create a culture where ideas flourish.

The evening begins with a grounding introduction from cultural anthropologist, UC Berkeley PhD alumna, and Clio's founding member Cari Borja, asking a question at the heart of Clio's:

How do ideas move between people, and what kinds of places make that movement possible? Because perhaps the most interesting thing about an entrepreneurial ecosystem isn't simply what gets built—it's what happens between the people doing the building.

Together, we'll explore how ideas become ventures, how encounters become collaborations, and how the places we create can shape what becomes possible.

Mike Alvarez Cohen is UC Berkeley’s Director of Innovation Ecosystem Development, where he builds partnerships and supports entrepreneurship across campus. He has worked with hundreds of startups and spearheaded the licensing of more than 100 innovations. He is the principal author of Startup Campus, which explores Berkeley’s rise as a global center for entrepreneurship and innovation.

Darren Cooke is UC Berkeley’s Chief Innovation & Entrepreneurship Officer, Executive Director of the Life Sciences Entrepreneurship Center, and a faculty member at Haas. An investor, attorney, and former engineer, he has held leadership roles at Berkeley SkyDeck and Life Science Angels and taught entrepreneurship through NIH and NSF programs.

Laura Hassner is Strategic Advisor to UC Berkeley Chancellor Richard K. Lyons, Executive Director of the Office of Innovation & Entrepreneurship, and a faculty member at Haas. She co-created and co-leads Berkeley Changemaker®, an academic program helping students discover their passions, develop their identities, and create meaningful change.

Missy Martin is the founder of Cat Eye Collective and a recent UC Berkeley Haas MBA graduate, where she earned the inaugural AI for Business certificate and two fellowships. Her background spans early-stage startups, community building, and venture capital, including experience at Precursor Ventures, where she evaluated more than 1,100 startups. She is passionate about bringing people and ideas together across entrepreneurship, technology, sustainability, and sports.

Cat Eye Collective brings people across the startup ecosystem together through experiences designed around curiosity and deep human connection. Inspired by the symbolism of a cat’s eye, the community is rooted in noticing what others overlook, asking better questions, and creating space for conversations that might not otherwise happen.