DFJ's Jennifer Fonstad named "Influential Woman" in technology

Jennifer Fonstad has been named one of the 15 rising stars of influential women in technology. Red Herring calls Jennifer the "Risk Mistress" for her success in the venture capital industry.

Jun. 6, 2005

"The Riskmaster" is a daffy rock anthem that plays while you�re on hold at Draper Fisher Jurvetson. The high-profile VC firm in Menlo Park, California, is known for early-stage investing, hence the song, written by Tim Draper and performed by a rock star who prefers to remain anonymous.

There's one DFJ venture capitalist that the lyrics don't correctly address: Jennifer Fonstad, the risk mistress. Roughly 10 percent, or 900 women, make up the U.S. population of working VCs, according to the National Venture Capital Association. In a firm and an industry where men dominate, Mrs. Fonstad, 39, holds her own as DFJ's lone female managing director. She joined DFJ in 1997, after receiving her MBA from HarvardUniversity.

Perhaps Mrs. Fonstad's most prominent success was giving early financial support to NetZero, now a subsidiary of United Online. The Internet subscription services provider earned first-quarter income of $11.5 million, down from $12.4 million year-on-year, although revenue grew 21 percent to $130.5 million.

Mrs. Fonstad is fond of early-stage ventures and serves on the boards of more than 10 companies in which she has placed her bets, including NanoCoolers, Nantero, and Molecular Imprints.

The mother of four says she doesn't abide by cultural stereotypes. That's what it will take to get more women into tech, says Mrs. Fonstad. Nano aside, the next next thing, she predicts, is podcasting.