Michael Goldberg

Michael Goldberg is an experienced venture capitalist and international business leader whose teaching is focused on the fields of entrepreneurship and early stage finance. Goldberg is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Design and Innovation at the Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University. With support from the Burton D. Morgan Foundation, Goldberg created a massive open online course (MOOC) called Beyond Silicon Valley: Growing Entrepreneurship in Transitioning Economies, which has attracted over 135,000 students from 190 countries with subtitles in 16 languages (most on Coursera platform). Inc.com named Beyond Silicon Valley one of the top online classes that "will make you smarter and more interesting." Goldberg spoke about the impact of his MOOC at TEDxHeraklion in Crete (February 2015) and TEDxFulbright in Santa Monica (September 2015).

Goldberg co-founded the Bridge Investment Fund, a venture capital fund focused on investing in Israeli medical device companies that have synergies with the leading health care industries and institutions in Cleveland.

Goldberg was the Director of International Business Development for America Online, responsible for structuring and negotiating international partnerships in Asia, including AOL’s joint venture with Lenovo to develop interactive services for the China market. Goldberg spent several years in South Africa working for the National Democratic Institute, designing and implementing voter education programs for South Africa’s historic first democratic election in 1994. Goldberg also worked for Microsoft and the International Management Group (IMG).

Goldberg has deep experience teaching entrepreneurship in international markets. He was awarded Fulbright fellowships to teach entrepreneurship at the National Economics University in Hanoi, Vietnam (2012) and at the Polytechnic in Windhoek, Namibia (2015). Goldberg has also been a visiting professor teaching courses on entrepreneurial management and finance at Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey and the ALBA Graduate School of Business in Athens, Greece. He has conducted seminars on behalf of the US Department of State on entrepreneurship in Argentina, Austria, Botswana, Cambodia, Chile, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Kosovo, Laos, Macedonia, Morocco, Myanmar, Namibia, the Netherlands, Philippines, Russia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Tanzania, Tunisia, Vietnam, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Goldberg is active in the entrepreneurship community in Cleveland, serving as a mentor to entrepreneurs through Jumpstart and FlashStarts. He has appeared as a frequent guest panelist on MSNBC’s “Your Business” and written on international entrepreneurship for CNBC, Entrepreneur.com and The Huffington Post.

Goldberg earned a BA from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, MA in International Relations from the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University and MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

The Weatherhead School of Management is different from other business schools. We are bold in our ideas, creative in our approach, and adaptive in our interactions within a changing business environment. We''ve enhanced traditional management education by integrating the fundamentals of business with ideas and practices that change individuals, organizations and societies. At Weatherhead, we develop leaders as good global citizens who innovate to create sustainable value.

Academic and Professional Activities

• Committee Member, Weatherhead Faculty Council, 2017 - Present
• Board Member, University Hospitals Technology Venture Fund, 2017 - Present
• Judge, Startup Open (2017), Global Entrepreneurship Network, 2017
• Mentor, XL Africa Accelerator, WorldBank, 2017
• Judge, Growth Accelerator Fund Competition, Small Business Administration (SBA), 2017
• Judge, MIT Inclusive Innovation Challenge, 2017
• Committee Member, Z Fund for Student Innovation, think[box], CWRU, 2016 - Present
• Committee Member, think[box] Management Committee, 2016 - Present
• Committee Member, Great Lakes Energy Institute, Adivsory Board, 2016 - Present
• Committee Member, CWRUcible, 2015 - Present
• Committee Member, ThinkForum Advisory Committee, 2015 - Present
• Faculty Advisor, CWRU Chapter, Northeast Ohio Student Venture Fund, 2014 - Present
• Faculty Advisor, IDEA Club, 2014 - Present
• Mentor, Jumpstart, Burton D. Morgan Mentoring Program, Cleveland, OH, 2014 - Present
• Board Member, Mt. Sinai Health Care Foundation, 2013 - Present
• Board Member, Cleveland Leadership Center, 2010 - 2015
• Board Member, Citizens Academy, 2007 - 2017

Awards

• 2017 CNBC Disruptor 50 Advisory Council, (2017).
• Entrepreneurship Spotlight Challenge -- Beyond Silicon Valley Program, AACSB. (2017).
• 2016 CNBC Disruptor 50 Advisory Council, (2016).
• Weatherhead School of Management Faculty Teaching Excellence Award , (2016).
• Speaker, TEDxFulbright (Santa Monica, CA), (2015).
• Fulbright Senior Specialist Award, Namibia , (2015).
• Speaker, TEDxHeraklion (Heraklion, Crete), (2015).
• Fulbright Scholar Award, Vietnam , (2012).
• US-Japan Leadership Program Fellow , (2008).
• 40 Under 40 , Crain''s Cleveland Business. (2007).
• Leadership Cleveland , (2007).
• German Marshall Fund American Marshall Memorial Fellow , (2005).