{"id":41648,"date":"2025-10-17T08:15:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-17T08:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/press-room.saatva.com\/?post_type=events_openings&#038;p=41648"},"modified":"2025-10-30T18:33:35","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T18:33:35","slug":"ron-rudzin-berkeley-changemaker-course-2025","status":"publish","type":"events_openings","link":"https:\/\/press-room.saatva.com\/events-and-openings\/ron-rudzin-berkeley-changemaker-course-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Saatva CEO Ron Rudzin Inspires the Next Generation of Changemakers at UC Berkeley"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><em>Sharing lessons in leadership, resilience, and purpose, Rudzin joined the Berkeley Changemaker course to discuss what it takes to build a successful business<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>At the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.berkeley.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">University of California, Berkeley<\/a>\u2019s Changemaker course titled <em>\u201cHow to Grow and Scale Family and Friends Small Businesses,\u201d<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.saatva.com\/press-room\/leadership\/ron-rudzin\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ron Rudzin<\/a>, Founder &amp; CEO of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.saatva.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Saatva<\/a>, delivered an honest, high-energy session that left students buzzing with motivation. Moderated by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/rhondashrader\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Rhonda Shrader<\/a> (Executive Director, Berkeley Haas Entrepreneurship), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/chris-bush\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Chris Bush<\/a> (Executive Director, Institute for Business Innovation), and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/kelly-ochoa\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kelly Ochoa<\/a> (Jacobs Foundation Program Associate, Berkeley StEP Incubator Program Director, Haas School of Business), The conversation spanned Ron\u2019s journey from his entrepreneurial start at 16, through the challenges of rebuilding during the 2008 recession, to the pivotal moment he chose to deconstruct the leading mattress brands and create a company dedicated to delivering best-in-class mattresses and sleep products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;As part of our <a href=\"https:\/\/changemaker.berkeley.edu\/home\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Berkeley Changemaker<\/a> course, our students had the amazing opportunity to hear from Ron, whose journey, from innovating the mattress industry to leading Saatva\u2019s partnership with Team USA and the LA28 Games, brought such an honest and inspiring energy to the room,\u201d said Kelly Ochoa. \u201cRon is the definition of what an entrepreneur does\u2014persevere, build with purpose, and bring together a mission-driven community that propels a shared vision forward. He\u2019s the compass that keeps innovation aligned with impact. His story exemplifies how thoughtful leadership and purpose-driven innovation can redefine industries while inspiring the next generation of entrepreneurs.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For Saatva, recognized as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.saatva.com\/press-room\/announcements\/saatva-announcing-official-mattress-sponsorship-of-la28-olympic-games\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Official Mattress and Restorative Sleep Provider of Team USA and the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games<\/a>, the session reinforced the core message: performance in sport and business begins with the right foundation\u2014quality rest, purposeful vision, and relentless improvement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During the session, Ron reminded students that real success is about staying grounded, believing in what you build, and keeping the customer at the heart of everything you do. \u201cThere are no shortcuts to building something meaningful,\u201d said Ron Rudzin. \u201cIt takes grit, curiosity, and genuine care. Every mistake is a lesson if you\u2019re open to learning from it,\u201d said Ron Rudzin. \u201cWhat matters most is staying true to your purpose and surrounding yourself with people who share your belief in what you\u2019re building\u2014that\u2019s how you build something lasting and become stronger in the process.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ron\u2019s visit came at a meaningful moment in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.saatva.com\/press-room\/announcements\/saatva-celebrates-15-years-of-transforming-the-business-of-sleep\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Saatva\u2019s 15th anniversary year<\/a>, reminding us that longevity in business comes from doing things the right way with passion, empathy, and an unwavering commitment to people. The conversation was a true reflection of what makes Saatva a brand built to last.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"1600\" data-id=\"41656\" src=\"https:\/\/press-room.saatva.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image-6.jpeg\" alt=\"image\" class=\"wp-image-41656\" srcset=\"https:\/\/press-room.saatva.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image-6.jpeg 1200w, https:\/\/press-room.saatva.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image-6-338x450.jpeg 338w, https:\/\/press-room.saatva.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image-6-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/press-room.saatva.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image-6-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"1600\" data-id=\"41655\" src=\"https:\/\/press-room.saatva.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image-5.jpeg\" alt=\"image\" class=\"wp-image-41655\" srcset=\"https:\/\/press-room.saatva.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image-5.jpeg 1200w, https:\/\/press-room.saatva.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image-5-338x450.jpeg 338w, https:\/\/press-room.saatva.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image-5-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/press-room.saatva.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image-5-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"1600\" data-id=\"41654\" src=\"https:\/\/press-room.saatva.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image-4.jpeg\" alt=\"image\" class=\"wp-image-41654\" srcset=\"https:\/\/press-room.saatva.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image-4.jpeg 1200w, https:\/\/press-room.saatva.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image-4-338x450.jpeg 338w, https:\/\/press-room.saatva.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image-4-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/press-room.saatva.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image-4-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":41651,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"events":[59],"class_list":["post-41648","events_openings","type-events_openings","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","events-offsite-events"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/press-room.saatva.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/events_openings\/41648","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/press-room.saatva.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/events_openings"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/press-room.saatva.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/events_openings"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/press-room.saatva.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41651"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/press-room.saatva.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"events","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/press-room.saatva.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/events?post=41648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}