Bill Hambrecht (born 1935) is an American investment banker and chairman of W.R. Hambrecht & Co. which he founded in 1998. He helped persuade Google to use an internet-based auction for their IPO in 2004, instead of a more traditional method using banks and other financial companies to find buyers. He is credited with popularizing this ""open IPO" model, using Dutch auctions to allow allow anyone, not just investing insiders, to buy stock in an IPO, potentially raising more money for startups. Some of the companies he has helped have an IPO like this include Overstock.com, Ravenswood winery and Salon.com ^[1][2] Nickname: Location of the City and County of San Francisco, California Coordinates: Country United States of America State California City-County San Francisco Government  - Mayor Gavin Newsom Area  - City  47 sq mi (122 km²)  - Land  46. ... An investment banker works for an investment bank. ... Google, Inc. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Dutch auction is a type of auction where the auctioneer begins with a high asking price which is lowered until some participant is willing to accept the auctioneers price, or a predetermined reserve price (the sellers minimum acceptable price) is reached. ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ... Screenshot of Salon. ...

Hembrecht is also recognized as one of the first major investors to recognize the value of technology and biotech companies, helping to take Apple Computer, Genentech and Adobe Systems public in the 1980s with his earlier San Francisco-based company Hembrecht & Quist, which he founded in 1968 and which also backed the IPOs of Netscape, MP3.com, and Amazon.com. The firm was bought by Chase Manhattan in 1999.^[3] Apple Inc. ... Genentech, Inc. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... Netscape Communications Corporation (commonly known as Netscape), was an American computer services company, best known for its web browser. ... MP3. ... Amazon. ... The Chase Manhattan Bank was formed by the merger of the Chase National Bank and the Bank of the Manhattan Company in 1955. ...

In 2007 he was in the news for planning a professional football league, the United Football League, to compete with the National Football League. Along with Google executive Tim Armstrong, Hambrecht pledged $2 million to start the league up, and lured its first owner, billionaire Mark Cuban. In the 1980s Hambrecht was a minority investor in the Oakland Invaders, a charter member of the failed United States Football League.^[2] The United Football League is a professional American football league being organized by Bill Hambrecht, a Wall Street investor and former minority partner in the USFLs Oakland Invaders, and Tim Armstrong, a senior executive at Google. ... The National Football League (NFL) is the largest and most prestigious professional American football league, consisting of thirty-two teams from American cities and regions. ... Mark Cuban (born July 31, 1958 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania). ... Oakland Invaders were a professional American football team that played in the United States Football League in the mid-1980s. ... The United States Football League was a professional American football league that played three seasons between 1983 and 1985. ...

He is a 1957 graduate of Princeton University.^[4] He has been listed as one of the top political donors in the country, giving mostly to Democratic candidates, and credits Nancy Pelosi, who he met in the 1970s, with inspiring him to get involved in politics.^[5] Princeton University is a private coeducational research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States of America. ... Democracy is a form of government under which the power to alter the laws and structures of government lies, ultimately, with the citizenry. ... Nancy Patricia DAlesandro Pelosi (born March 26, 1940) is currently the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. ...

References

1. ^ 2006 Fast 50. fastcompany.com. Retrieved on 2007-05-30.
2. ^ ^{a b} Young, Eric. "Investment banker Hambrecht plans pro football league", San Francisco Business Times, 2007-05-30. 
3. ^ Scherer, Michael. "William R. Hambrecht (with Sally)", Mother Jones, 2001-03-05. 
4. ^ Bill Hambrecht on NNDB. Retrieved on 2007-05-30.
5. ^ McCormick, Erin and Sandalow, Marc. "Pelosi mines 'California gold' for Dems nationwide", San Francisco Chronicle, 2006-04-03.