Chat with Charles, vol. 1

When Stan and Kyle from the animated sitcom South Park became Guitar Hero rockstars overnight, brothers Charles ’93 and Kai ’94 Huang, the real-life inventors of the video game, knew they had a hit: It became the world’s best-selling video game in 2007 and 2008. Today Charles is the CEO of Indigo 7, which owns several brands in fashion, technology, and entertainment, and volunteers for Cal, including co-teaching an entrepreneurship class for humanities students. We talked to Charles, chair of the UC Berkeley Foundation Board of Trustees and co-chair of the Light the Way campaign, about his experiences.

Photo of Charles in a lavender shirt, standing on a deck above Sproul Plaza with the Campanile and Sproul Hall in the background.

Charles Huang ’93, chair of the UC Berkeley Foundation Board of Trustees and co-chair of the Light the Way campaign

How did your undergraduate experience shape your future?

I had two major experiences. First, I studied abroad for a year at Beijing University. I learned about Asia and its emerging technology markets, which has helped me throughout my career. In fact, Guitar Hero was heavily inspired by amazing music games from Asia.

Second, I was a student activist for issues like faculty diversity. I met inspiring student leaders, including John Perez (the former speaker of the California State Assembly and a UC Regent), Phil Ting (State Assembly budget chair), Viet Thanh Nguyen (winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction), and Alfonso Salazar (president of the Cal Alumni Association). This experience started a lifelong passion to make positive social change in my community, including at my beloved UC Berkeley.

Light the Way has raised over $5 billion for Berkeley. Is there a particular gift that inspires you?

In the spring of 2020, a team exploring the reopening of campus realized we needed to greatly increase COVID-19 testing capacity. Dean of public health Michael Lu and Nobel laureate Jennifer Doudna formed an initiative to turn the Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI) into a test hub. Coleman Fung, an alum and friend, quickly organized a group to raise $800,000 for this effort. This gift was meaningful to me because it shows donors can make an immediate impact for Berkeley in a time of great need.

I’ve noticed that today’s students arrive on campus ready to start a company. This generation wants to make an immediate impact — not after graduation, but today!

Why should alumni give to Berkeley, and why now?

Berkeley educates a huge number of lower income, immigrant, and other marginalized students. We are an incredible engine of equality, and that’s great for California and the United States. This is very different from most other elite universities. Forbes ranked Berkeley #1 in 2021 — the first time it had ever chosen a public university — attesting to the importance of excellence and equality. I think alumni should be proud to support this.

What has co-teaching an entrepreneurship class been like?

My friend Umair Kahn and I want to share Silicon Valley-style entrepreneurship and open doors for a broad set of students, including artists, scientists, and social scientists. I’ve noticed that today’s students arrive on campus ready to start a company. This generation wants to make an immediate impact — not after graduation, but today!

For example, Sam Yang and Capri Wheaton, who met in our class, started a company that was accepted into a prestigious incubator, Y Combinator — the only college entrepreneurs accepted into that cohort out of thousands of applicants! It’s classic Silicon Valley.

Originally published in the March 2022 issue of California magazine. By Amy Cranch.

Related stories