Haute 100 San Francisco Update: Ann Winblad

Our Haute 100 list details the accomplishments of the most influential people in each of our markets—Miami, New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. These people continue to make moves, so rather than waiting for the next Haute 100 issue to come out, we thought we’d provide you with regular updates on those Haute 100 members who are making headlines. Ann Winblad is tough as nails in the tech world and affirming that 2010 is all about how you optimize your business.

Ann Winblad

CATEGORY: Entrepreneurs

COMPANY: Hummer Winblad Venture Partners

INDUSTRY: Venture Capitalism

WHAT MADE HER HAUTE: The firm she co-founded was the first venture capital fund to invest exclusively in software companies. She’s been involved in entrepreneurship in the software industry for more than 30 years; in 1976, she co-founded Open Systems, an accounting software maker, with a $500 investment, which she sold six years later for some $15 million. She’s been consulted by some of the biggest names in tech, and serves as a director for Voltage Security, Krillion, Mulesource, and Star Analytics.

WHAT MAKES HER HAUTE NOW: Sharp and savvy, Ann Winblad has seen her fair share of tech trends come and go in Silicon Valley. From working the strawberry fields in Minnesota where she made her first dollar to becoming Bill Gates’ confidante, the co-founder and managing director of Hummer Winblad Venture Partners has paved the digital age. The entrepreneur continues to be a big name in the software industry with leading experiences as director of Ace Metrix, and on the board of directors for Voltage Security, MuleSoft, Open Systems International Krillion, Star Analytics, and most recently, Karmasphere. Winblad’s HWVP and David Liddle’s U.S. Venture Partners poured $5 million worth of Series A funding into Karmasphere, the start-up that makes Apache Hadoop more accessible.