Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
At UC Berkeley Haas, we believe the future belongs to those who ask the best questions, think critically, and lead with principles.
Nikhil Arora and Alejandro Velez, both BS 09, learned in a lecture on sustainability that it’s possible to grow gourmet mushrooms on spent coffee grounds and wondered whether the idea could spawn a business. That question led them to found Back to the Roots, which has built an organic garden brand selling soil, seeds, and mushroom-growing kits at retailers including Walmart and Target.
Amy Fan, MBA/MPH 19, co-founder of Twentyeight Health, asked why so many women across the U.S. faced barriers to access reproductive health services. Her startup helped answer that question by prescribing and delivering affordable contraceptives and medications online.
Ghazaleh Sadooghi, EWMBA 25, asked how she could avoid being labeled a cheater for using AI tools in class. That led to her to co-found startup Rumi Technologies, which empowers responsible use of AI allowing guidelines to be set by instructors and tools that show how students use tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini.
At UC Berkeley Haas, we believe the future belongs to those who ask the best questions, think critically, and lead with principles.
Nikhil Arora and Alejandro Velez, both BS 09, learned in a lecture on sustainability that it’s possible to grow gourmet mushrooms on spent coffee grounds and wondered whether the idea could spawn a business. That question led them to found Back to the Roots, which has built an organic garden brand selling soil, seeds, and mushroom-growing kits at retailers including Walmart and Target.
Amy Fan, MBA/MPH 19, co-founder of Twentyeight Health, asked why so many women across the U.S. faced barriers to access reproductive health services. Her startup helped answer that question by prescribing and delivering affordable contraceptives and medications online.
Ghazaleh Sadooghi, EWMBA 25, asked how she could avoid being labeled a cheater for using AI tools in class. That led to her to co-found startup Rumi Technologies, which empowers responsible use of AI allowing guidelines to be set by instructors and tools that show how students use tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini.
