VC Circle

Dealmaker Media works closely with our community of Venture Capital Firms to share information about startups and innovators who are emerging on the horizon.

Since 1983, the Battery team has prided itself on avoiding the herd and on operating a little differently than other investors. We have been fortunate to back some very big thinkers who have also carved their own paths, and we continue to seek out new visionaries every day. Our firm was founded on a set of principles that remain the pillars of our investment philosophy: a concentration on technology and related sectors; a research-centric methodology for identifying and understanding large, emerging market opportunities; a proactive approach to finding driven entrepreneurs and compelling businesses; and daily involvement with every portfolio company. This approach has helped us to build lasting, market-leading companies while delivering leading returns for investors. We have been fortunate to work with individuals who have set out to push technology boundaries at companies such as: Akamai Technologies, Allegiance Telecom, FORE Systems, HNC Software, Infoseek, LIFFE, MetroPCS, Neoteris, Nextel, Pixelworks, Qtera, SigmaTel, Vastera, and Witness Systems. Battery has raised nearly $3B since inception, and we are currently investing BV VIII, a $750M fund. www.battery.com

First Round Capital is an early stage venture capital firm dedicated to helping talented entrepreneurs build remarkable companies. We are seed-stage investors, often providing a company’s first outside capital, and are not afraid of investing in pre-revenue companies. As former entrepreneurs, we understand the challenges of launching a new enterprise. We look to take an active role in most of the companies we invest in. We believe our experience, insight and expertise are far more valuable than our capital — and we look for entrepreneurs who feel the same. www.firstround.com 

Hummer Winblad Venture Partners was founded in 1989 as the first venture capital fund to invest exclusively in software companies. Through our history, we’ve had the opportunity to invest in the pioneers and leaders of several generations of software applications, architectures, delivery methods and business models. We’ve helped entrepreneurs build companies in desktop software, embedded systems, client-server, distributed network computing, internet, and software as a service. Our earliest portfolio companies started shipping software on floppy disks and today we’re investors in pioneering companies in on-demand computing. We’ve seen everything from shrink-wrap licenses to enterprise-wide “big deals” to subscription pricing; from direct sales to highly-leveraged channel strategies. In other words, because software is all we do, we bring tremendous value to highly talented people who want to build great software companies. We hope our website tells you a lot about us, but please feel free to contact any of us directly. www.humwin.com

Mayfield Fund provides “venture capital with impact” by partnering with exceptional individuals to create industry-leading companies. Our investment sectors include communications/wireless, consumer/media, enterprise software and semiconductors. We have over $2.8 billion under management and a team of ten investing professionals. Since our founding in 1969, we have raised 13 funds, invested in more than 500 companies, taken more than 100 public, and nearly 100 have merged or were acquired. We offer entrepreneurs a team of partners with operating experience and results-driven venture capital expertise virtually unmatched in the industry. We’ve learned over the last four decades that unless you constantly adapt – you will die. We’re used to the pace and especially realizing the importance of iteration. In fact, our vision, curiosity, financial strength and commitment helped build Silicon Valley. www.mayfield.com/

Norwest Venture Partners (NVP) is a global venture capital firm that has actively partnered with entrepreneurs to build great businesses for more than 45 years. NVP focuses on investments in information technology including: software, services, enterprise and communications systems, semiconductor/components and Internet, media and consumer. The firm currently manages more than $2.5 billion in venture capital out of its office in Palo Alto, California. NVP has funded over 400 companies in the U.S. since inception. Some of the firm’s recent investments and transactions include Adventity, Airespace (acquired by Cisco Systems), deCarta, DoubleFusion, Jigsaw, KACE, mBlox, Omeneon Video Networks, Open-Silicon (acquired by Unicorn Investment Bank), Persistent Systems, Rackspace Managed Hosting, SideStep (acquired by Kayak), Spinnaker Networks (acquired by Network Appliance), Veraz Networks, Winphoria Networks (acquired by Motorola) Yatra, and Yipes (acquired by Reliance/Flag Telecom). NVP has also funded such market leaders as Actel Corporation, Cerent (acquired by Cisco Systems), Documentum, Extreme Networks, Forte Software (acquired by Sun Microsystems), PeopleSoft and Tivoli Systems (acquired by IBM). For more information, please visit www.nvp.com.

About the VC Circle
The VC Circle is an annual membership designed exclusively for VCs to give them access to what matters most: deal flow, priority consideration for speaking opportunities, free conference passes, selection committee participation, private dinners, and networking events.

To learn more about participation, contact us at — vccircle @ dealmakermedia [ dot ] com.