hyperion
(2)
Brooks Running
Brooks Running is a Seattle-based company that designs and sells performance running shoes, apparel, and accessories, and does nothing else. A subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, it narrowed its focus to running in 2001 and turned a near-bankrupt shoe maker into a category leader, closing 2025 with roughly $1.5 billion in revenue and its ninth straight year of growth. Its core franchises - the Ghost, Glycerin, and Adrenaline GTS - anchor the No. 1 position in U.S. specialty running retail, built on cushioning and support technologies like DNA LOFT, BioMoGo DNA, and GuideRails.
Ann Winblad
Ann Winblad is a Silicon Valley legend who bootstrapped her first software company with $500 borrowed from her brother, sold it for $15 million, then co-founded the world's first venture capital firm exclusively dedicated to software in 1989. Over 30+ years at Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, she backed 160+ enterprise software companies - including first-institutional-investor bets on MuleSoft (acquired by Salesforce for $6.5B) and Omniture (acquired by Adobe for $1.8B) - while becoming the most influential female venture capitalist of her generation.