Press Release: February 14, 2001

WR Hambrecht + Co Named “Best of the Web” by Forbes for Venture Investing for Second Straight Year

San Francisco, CA, February 14, 2001—WR Hambrecht + Co today announced that for the second year in a row its venture investing site was named “Best of the Web” by Forbes. In addition to previous accolades from Forbes, Business Week recognized WR Hambrecht for offering one of the top venture investing sites and the New York Times cited the firm as one of the leaders in its article “The Mass Marketing of Venture Capital.”

In its review, Forbes lauded WR Hambrecht’s venture investing capabilities because the firm offers “a seat at the table for anyone with Web access and modest affluence.” Forbes also cited the company’s experience in underwriting while highlighting recent private deals including VA Linux, Salesforce.com, BrightLink, LuxN and Guru.com.

“We’re pleased that Forbes again recognized us as a leader in venture investing online. It’s our goal to offer investment opportunities previously unavailable to many investors - including private equity, IPOs and corporate bond offerings,” said Michael Szeto, Senior Managing Director and Head of the Private Equity Group at WR Hambrecht + Co.

WR Hambrecht + Co has offered online venture investing since October 1999. To date the firm has offered accredited investors access to over 30 private companies, primarily focusing on network infrastructure, embedded devices/open source and enabling technologies. Because the firm acts as a principal in each investment, it conducts due diligence on each investment and makes their investment rationale available to customers. Since WR Hambrecht + Co began private investments, eight of its portfolio companies have gone public or were acquired.