Haute 100 San Francisco Update: John Hummer

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. Investing in the good-doing non-profit organization Shanti Microfinance, we are focusing on venture capitalist John Hummer.

Name: John Hummer

Category: Entrepreneurs

Company: Hummer Winblad Venture Partners

Industry: Venture Capitalism

What Made Him Haute: This successful investor started out as an athlete in 1970. Up until 1976 he played basketball for the Seattle Super Sonics. After his short athletic career, in 1989 he founded Hammer Winblad with Ann Winblad; the company was later joined by Mark Gorenberg. His previous investments include Octel, Wind River Systems, Powersoft and he was one of the first to invest in Napster. Currently, he is on the boards of Baynote, Birst, Elastra and Martin Dawes Systems.

What Makes Him Haute Today: Hummer has recently made headlines as one of the investors backing Shanti Microfinance, a non-profit microfinance fund founded by Sheetal Mehta Walsh. The fund is focused on starting entrepreneurs in India and has thus far raised $772,000. Shanti is currently working with entrepreneurs in Gujarat, India, leveraging microfinance and technology and plans to fund 2,000 entrepreneurs by the year 2011. As a donor, Hummer will participate and be involved in development, making this a great philanthropic opportunity.

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