Written by Diana Plačiakienė, ‎Representative in Silicon Valley at Enterprise Lithuania

With the new initiative of Startup Highway & Berkeley SkyDeck in progress many are curious to learn more about the program. Most of you have heard about Y Combinator or 500 Startups, but there are probably 200+ other programs in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Why SkyDeck?  Where is it?

I first heard about SkyDeck at the "Silicon Valley comes to the Baltics" conference in Vilnius in November 2013, a super popular conference for youth, organized by Enterprise Lithuania.  Jeff Burton, the Executive Director of Skydeck, was invited there as a guest speaker.  His first introduction to the Lithuanian startup ecosystem, follow ups and further negotiation with Startup Highway led to a brand new and exciting initiative between Lithuania and San Francisco Bay Area.

Berkeley is technically not part of Silicon Valley. It’s at about 1 hour -drive from Palo Alto (Stanford University) and 15 minutes from San Francisco. However, locals rarely put a strong mark between San Francisco/ Silicon Valley or Berkeley. It’s all part of the Bay Area and a 1-hour drive is so everyday.

As the name implies, SkyDeck is located on the top floor of the tallest building in Berkeley, well known for its one of the Top Universities in the World – University of California, Berkeley. The building is located just across from the University campus with the brainy people and good vibe all around.  You get a million dollar-view of the San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge from the accelerator ‘s windows that makes you feel situated on top of the world. Whatever you say, the ambiance counts.

Jeff Burton, the Executive Director of SkyDeck, meets me on one of those California –sunny February afternoons with a warm welcoming smile. For those that haven’t had an opportunity to meet Jeff B. at SVC to the Baltics in 2013, Jeff Burton is one   the Founding Team Members of Electronic Arts, the world’s third- largest gaming company – EA Games, and has had an incredibly successful career.

SkyDeck is a joint venture among UC Berkeley’s College of Engineering, Haas School of Business (both top ten programs in the US) and Vice Research Office.  SkyDeck combines the consulting know-how of traditional accelerators with the vast resources of the research university. This robust partnership gives startups the opportunity not only to grow their businesses, but also to launch and compete with industry leaders.

One big advantage of SkyDeck’s location and association with UC Berkeley is that there are about 35,00 students on campus, many eager to gain the experience of working with a startup and almost every company at SkyDeck utilizes the great resource of part- time student interns from the top public university in the world.

Also, the University has the Berkeley Angel Network, a group of almost 200 Alumni, professors and friends of UCB.

At this moment, Jeff Burton says, SkyDeck has 25 teams working at the accelerator. A team ranges from 2 to 5 members, from early stage startups to companies that already have a strong traction in their home country markets. For example, they have a Slovenian team with about 75% of market share in Slovenia. For them, Sky Deck provides Soft Landing – accelerated access to the US Market.

What is the best match for SkyDeck ? According to Jeff Burton, the biggest value for the company of being here is interacting with other companies. “We don’t give money to them. We introduce them to investors. In order to do that, we have to know them.”  SkyDeck is looking for people with great entrepreneurial spirit, who are open to coaching, ready to listen, willing to work closely with others. Yes, they must have a team, product, some traction, high impact idea, but the personality factor is super important.

The working desks are situated side by side, so you should be willing to collaborate, blend in with the rest.  Companies are at the similar developing stage, Jeff Burton states, but some of them have been through the problems you’re facing right now, and they already know how to solve them easier, faster. They’re willing to share; you don’t have to solve it all by yourself.  You feel you have a safety nest.

Companies work with mentors; they’re watched and when ready, introduced to investors.  SkyDeck has a huge network of Corporate and Venture contacts, and most companies get introduced to potential clients as well.  A typical scenario is to stay here for 6 months, but there’s an option to extend to 1 year.

Besides the work stations, the facility has a spacious lounge area, few private sessions rooms and a nice conference place where the meetings with investors/ potential clients take place.  If you need some fresh air, take the elevator down to take a walk or grab a bite  (California has good food) or even jump on a Bart train (the station is right there) and be in San Francisco in 15 -20 minutes for a meeting, networking event or an industry related conference, or… a date.  If there is something important going on in the Valley, you can be there is less than one hour. By the way, the rental prices are much more affordable in Berkeley / Oakland area than in San Francisco or Silicon Valley.

Honestly, why wait – apply today.  The deadline is March 1 st!