HWVP in the FT

The FT recently profiled John Hummer and Hummer Winblad.

The article, titled "Think boring is the tip from Silicon Valley," highlights conclusions from a review of Hummer Winblad's 18 year investment history.

In the spirit of George Santayana's quote, "those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it...."the article reviews some of John's conclusions on the "model" that works best for HWVP and, equally as important, the model that doesn't work.

Chief among the conclusions are 1) a focus on capital efficiency with small A rounds, 2) a bias towards infrastructure companies, and 3) the importance of investing in disruptive platform shifts/waves.

While the above is not a universal recipe for success, I believe that introspection is fundamental to defining strategy and securing consensus and focus.

One thing I can vouch for is the leverage and productivity possible when the full team subscribes to a common model and measures investment opportunities along a common curve.