We founded WR Hambrecht + Co in January 1998 to level the playing field for investors and our corporate clients. Based on our experience taking companies public, we knew that there had to be a better way to do initial public offerings.

We had three objectives:
find an efficient way to determine the true market demand for the shares
be able to allocate the shares to investors who really want to own the stock
treat all investors, including individuals, equally
Our OpenIPO® and our other auction products accomplish all three objectives and allow offerings to be priced and allocated transparently and fairly. Issuers are able to see every bid, and every investor knows that his bid is treated equally.