BUS 165 — Purpose and Profit: Building Ventures That Create Lasting Impact
Quarter: Spring
Instructor(s): Navgeet King Zed
Date(s): Apr 13—May 11
Class Recording Available: Yes
Class Meeting Day: Mondays
Class Meeting Time: 5:30—7:20 pm (PT)
Tuition: $485
Refund Deadline: Apr 15
Unit(s): 1
Enrollment Limit: 45
Status: Open
What if the most profitable businesses were also the most purposeful? This course equips professionals and entrepreneurs to build ventures that create both financial value and meaningful social good. Students will explore how stakeholder capitalism, impact integration, and values-driven leadership can strengthen competitive advantage and long-term resilience.
Through lectures, case studies, and interactive exercises, students will learn to:
- Define and communicate a clear organizational purpose that drives strategy and culture
- Design sustainable business models that balance growth with social and environmental responsibility
- Apply impact measurement frameworks such as B Corporation certification to evaluate performance
- Lead ethically and foster mission-aligned teams that attract talent and build stakeholder trust
NAVGEET KING ZED
CEO, OMECE Venture Studios
Navgeet King Zed's company funds and builds profit-rooted-in-purpose companies. He has an extensive background in entrepreneurship, consulting, investing, education, and nonprofits. He received a BS in business administration from UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business and a certificate in creating public value from Harvard Kennedy School. He has taught business, entrepreneurship, and storytelling at UC Berkeley. Textbooks for this course:
(Optional) Rebecca Henderson, Reimagining Capitalism in a World on Fire (ISBN 978-1541730144)
(Optional) Marc J. Epstein, Kristi Yuthas, Measuring and Improving Social Impacts: A Guide for Nonprofits, Companies, and Impact Investors (ISBN 978-1907643996 )
(Optional) Sir Ronald Cohen, Impact: Reshaping Capitalism to Drive Real Change (ISBN 978-1631955143)
(Optional) Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey , An Everyone Culture: Becoming a Deliberately Developmental Organization (ISBN 978-1625278623)
(Optional) Aaron Hurst, The Purpose Economy: How Your Desire for Impact, Personal Growth and Community Is Changing the World (ISBN 978-1717901323)
(Optional) Jacqueline Novogratz, The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap Between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World (ISBN 978-1605294766)
(Optional) Yvon Chouinard, Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman (ISBN 978-0143037835)
(Optional) John Mackey & Raj Sisodia, Conscious Capitalism (ISBN 978-1625271754)
(Optional) Marc J. Epstein, Kristi Yuthas, Measuring and Improving Social Impacts: A Guide for Nonprofits, Companies, and Impact Investors (ISBN 978-1907643996 )
(Optional) Sir Ronald Cohen, Impact: Reshaping Capitalism to Drive Real Change (ISBN 978-1631955143)
(Optional) Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey , An Everyone Culture: Becoming a Deliberately Developmental Organization (ISBN 978-1625278623)
(Optional) Aaron Hurst, The Purpose Economy: How Your Desire for Impact, Personal Growth and Community Is Changing the World (ISBN 978-1717901323)
(Optional) Jacqueline Novogratz, The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap Between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World (ISBN 978-1605294766)
(Optional) Yvon Chouinard, Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman (ISBN 978-0143037835)
(Optional) John Mackey & Raj Sisodia, Conscious Capitalism (ISBN 978-1625271754)