Meet Minjoo Sur, the Entrepreneur Helping People Stay Motivated

Minjoo Sur (B.S. Electrical Engineering and Computer Science ‘18), co-founder and CEO of Huddle, joined the UC Berkeley SCET community after transferring to UC Berkeley in the fall of 2016. Since then, she has worked as a software engineer at Salesforce. Over the past year, she has furthered her mission to help people stay motivated to achieve their goals by developing her startup, Huddle, a platform designed to promote accountability and community in individuals’s journeys of self-improvement and discovery. We followed up with Minjoo Sur to learn more about her entrepreneurial journey, the origins of Huddle, and where she is headed next. 

First Steps in Entrepreneurship

Minjoo Sur always knew she wanted to develop her software startup eventually. When she transferred to UC Berkeley in 2016, she pursued a degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science to establish a strong technical foundation. After deciding to expand her business acumen, she enrolled in ENGIN 183E 001 – Technology Entrepreneurship taught by Professor Naeem Zafar. Minjoo noted that this particular class stood out to her as having the greatest impact on her personal and professional development. At the time, Minjoo described herself as a student with deep passion but no pertinent knowledge. She felt energized and inspired by the high-intensity but rewarding demands of the class, and she grew more confident in her pitching and communication skills. Minjoo notes that the highlight of the course was her first of many pitches – it was the first time she envisioned herself as an entrepreneur, beyond the classroom. She said, “I could really see myself being an entrepreneur. It was not only educational but practical.”

From Industry to Startup

Following her graduation from UC Berkeley in 2018, Minjoo spent the next five years working in a software engineering role at Salesforce. Though she deeply enjoyed her work, she revealed that this role also allowed her the flexibility to dedicate more time to her side hustles. 

After experiencing a difficult loss in the family, Minjoo questioned her purpose – what she wanted to do during her lifetime, and what impact she wanted to have on the world. 

To Minjoo, entrepreneurship isn’t just about turning a profit – it’s about solving societal problems, catalyzing positive cultural shifts, and embarking on a fulfilling journey of self-discovery. During this difficult time, she read several books to find a reason and purpose in her life pursuits. One book, The Almanack of Naval Ravikant: A Guide to Wealth and Happiness, imparted a profound message: to build a successful company, one must dedicate oneself wholly to an issue they are uniquely positioned to address, where their contributions become indispensable and irreplaceable. This alignment is essential not only to building a successful business but also to finding fulfillment and happiness along the way. 

Minjoo reflected on finding the intersection between something she loved to do and a societal problem. She deeply enjoyed motivating others to embrace opportunities for personal growth and observed that her peers struggled to hold themselves accountable for their goals. Minjoo then focused on finding co-founders and got to work building her startup, Huddle. 

“Huddle came to my mind naturally after I found the common ground of my purpose, passion, and my talent: self-improvement, motivating others, helping others understand themselves, connecting people, positivity, creativity, and empathy.”

Even in the earliest days of developing Huddle, Minjoo felt confident entering a new world of uncertainty. Equipped with the entrepreneurial acumen gained from SCET classes, industry experience, and strong technical background, she felt prepared and driven to build a platform aiming to transform the way people go about achieving their goals. More specifically, Huddle currently helps members with ADHD find connections with accountability partners with similar goals. Users can connect with partners to help them stay on track, measure their progress, and foster a sense of camaraderie along the way. 

Looking Ahead

Today, Minjoo and her two co-founders are working full-time to grow Huddle. They have launched their MVP on Slack and are currently focusing on crafting their go-to-market strategy. They have sixteen paying users in the San Francisco area, and they have received hundreds of requests to open more spots outside of the Bay Area. In the future, they are looking to scale their company, and they hope to deepen relationships among users through hosting in-person community events. 

“Our vision is to create a world where every person has a support system to become the best version of themselves. We want to make a self-growth journey less lonely and more inspiring by connecting people who have similar life goals to grow together.”