Merritt Hummer

Merritt Hummer invests in ambitious founders building the next generation of B2B software and marketplace businesses globally.

Partner

New York

Portfolio Highlights

About Merritt

I love to roll up my sleeves and work closely with founders to shape their companies into the very best companies they can be.

What is the first company you invested in? Do you have any anecdotes from when you first began working together?

SmartRent, a smart home automation platform, was one of my first investments. The company had been in business all of nine months when we went to visit the team in Arizona. Their office doubled as a warehouse: smart locks, leak sensors, and smart thermostats were piled from floor to ceiling in every room. SmartRent had become one of the country’s largest importers of smart home devices in less than a year. That’s when we knew they had product-market fit! We saw the potential to build a compelling software platform on top of SmartRent’s broad distribution of smart devices. It was a contrarian bet to invest in a company with mostly hardware revenue that aspired to become a software company, but they are well on their way to doing that now as a leader in their market.

What inspires you?

I am inspired by founder ingenuity. There is nothing like hearing a founder describe a novel perspective on a problem. I love my job because I am always learning from the people I meet.

Do you have an investment ethos?

A core pillar of my investment ethos is that great founders are born everywhere. I am drawn to founders who don’t fit stereotypes and I don’t mind jumping on a plane (or Zoom!) to meet them wherever they are.

What is compelling about your domain?

I spend all of my time looking for the next great B2B software company. I’ve invested in many different domains, including fintech, commerce, proptech, and more. Ultimately, what I look for is a compelling founder who wants to solve a big problem and has the grit and passion to go do it.

What are your interests and passions outside of BCV?

More than anything, I love spending time with my family.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Go to bed! I have always been a night owl to a fault. There is always one more person to talk to, one more page to read, one more thing to do.

What is a self-care ritual you practice?

Whenever I am in a place with mountains, I love to go hiking. Somewhat counterintuitively, strenuous movement is the best form of stress relief I’ve found!