A Conversation with Caroline Winnett, Executive Director @ Berkeley SkyDeck | Founder @ BrandNeuro | Neurogami | NeuroFocus | MBA @ University of California, Berkeley (Haas)

Women in VCApr 25, 202416 min

Caroline Winnett brings a rare combination of neuroscience expertise and entrepreneurial leadership to her role as Executive Director of Berkeley SkyDeck. Her journey from professional violinist to serial neuromarketing entrepreneur to running one of the most successful university-affiliated incubators offers insights into how academic institutions can effectively bridge the gap between research and commercialization.

Key takeaways

•University incubators can achieve broad deal flow by strategically loosening traditional academic restrictions while maintaining institutional benefits.
•Career pivots from creative fields like music can provide unexpected advantages in business leadership and pattern recognition.
•Choosing to run an established platform over starting from scratch can amplify impact when the institutional brand and resources align with your vision.
•Entrepreneurial families create foundational business instincts that persist even through seemingly unrelated career detours.

Listen to full episode

0:00

Best moment

6:54· 21sBusiness Mechanics

Most incubators that are part of a university are very restricted in who can come. We have some restriction, but we've managed to set it up so that we have all the deal flow we need.

6:54 / 7:15

Great question. Because, you know, as you say, most incubators that are part of a university are very restricted in in who can come. So we don't we we have some restriction, but we've managed to set it up so that we have all the deal flow we need, and we can fulfill our two missions. So we have a dual mission at Berkeley Skydeck.

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“You know, I always kind of knew I wanted to be in in business.”
at 1:45

3 clips

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Women in VC

Origin Story

I did take that early detour into violin performance, and I was a professional violinist for a few years. I came from a family of entrepreneurs, my father, my grandfather.

Unexpected career path from professional musician to startup executive. The contrast between artistic performance and business entrepreneurship creates an interesting personal narrative.

1:45 - 2:0521s

Women in VC

Origin Story

Rather than starting my own incubator, I'm gonna come in and run Berkeley Skydeck, which is Berkeley and all things great about Berkeley.

Shows strategic thinking about joining vs. building from scratch. Demonstrates how career pivots can align with institutional opportunities rather than competing with them.

4:16 - 4:3216s

Women in VC

Business Mechanics

Most incubators that are part of a university are very restricted in who can come. We have some restriction, but we've managed to set it up so that we have all the deal flow we need.

Explains how they solved a common structural problem in university-affiliated programs. The contrast between 'most incubators' and their approach creates a clear differentiation point.

6:54 - 7:1521s

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A Conversation with Caroline Winnett, Executive Director @ Berkeley SkyDeck | Founder @ BrandNeuro | Neurogami | NeuroFocus | MBA @ University of California, Berkeley (Haas)

Key takeaways

Listen to full episode

Best moment

Most incubators that are part of a university are very restricted in who can come. We have some restriction, but we've managed to set it up so that we have all the deal flow we need.

Transcript

3 clips

I did take that early detour into violin performance, and I was a professional violinist for a few years. I came from a family of entrepreneurs, my father, my grandfather.

Rather than starting my own incubator, I'm gonna come in and run Berkeley Skydeck, which is Berkeley and all things great about Berkeley.

Most incubators that are part of a university are very restricted in who can come. We have some restriction, but we've managed to set it up so that we have all the deal flow we need.

From the blog