My business partner, Rick Moss, and I started our venture firm, Better Ventures, in 2011 as a three-month accelerator program (then called Hub Ventures). With our combined experience in customer development, network building, and fundraising, we recently envisioned an open source model that could engage the wider entrepreneurial community. We felt that setting up shop in Oakland was a natural fit, given the burgeoning community of impact-minded founders in the East Bay. Oakland is the center of an emerging clustering of mission-oriented companies, such as Sungevity and Revolution Foods. In addition, renowned institutions like UC Berkeley have a community stronghold here. The soulfulness, diversity, and sense of social and environmental justice make it a unique entrepreneurial hot spot. More →