Venture capitalist Kate Mitchell relishes being at the forefront of innovation.

Mitchell, managing director at Foster City's BA Venture Partners, draws upon her long experience in finance and technology to invest in the companies of the future.

"My job is to be educated by passionate entrepreneurs every day," Mitchell said. "I constantly get to learn about new technology, new markets and new approaches."

Mitchell takes a pragmatic approach when deciding which companies deserve funding. Without the right application, mere "gee whiz" technology isn't going to cut it, she said.

"If you're my customer, you don't care about technology," she said. "You just want to make sure it works well for you."

During her career, Mitchell has been in a position to bring new technologies to consumers. Beginning in the early 1990s, Mitchell took charge of developing online banking for Bank of America. At the time, she recalled being told by the vice chairman that "if it doesn't work out, it's so hair-brained that no one will blame you."

But by 1995, Mitchell and her team saw to it that BofA's online banking was up and running. In late 1996, she was tapped to join the BA Venture Partners and in 1999, Mitchell became managing partner of the fund.

The firm focuses on working with companies through mid- to late-stage investments. This year, the partners began actively investing BAVP VII, a $400 million fund financed entirely by Bank of America.

Two-thirds of its investments focused on technology and the remaining one-third on life sciences.

The firm is committed to a collaborative approach with the companies it funds. In addition to serving on the boards of directors, the partners like to spend time with company executives, "where they can let their hair down and brainstorm," Mitchell said.

One such brainstorming session opened the doors to a major business opportunity for one of the firm's investments, Wayport Inc., a company that provides high speed Internet access for hotels and airports.

A principal at BA Venture Partners introduced Wayport to an executive at McDonald's -- a meeting that led to the fast food giant choosing Wayport as its U.S. Wi-Fi service provider.

In the last few years, careful market study has prompted BA Venture Partners to invest in a new arena -- gaming.

"We watched the fact that two to three years ago, games were growing disproportionately even to the Internet," Mitchell said. "Initially some of us said, ¯we're not going to invest in games.' We looked at the numbers and realized there was a great opportunity there."

After meeting with virtually all the players in the gaming space, the firm opted to back two companies: Glu Mobile of San Mateo, which offers games that can be downloaded on wireless devices such as cell phones; and Ageia Technologies Inc., Mountain View, creator of a "physics chip" capable of enhancing animation to make it more lifelike.

In evaluating companies, the strength of the business model should not be underestimated, Mitchell said, noting, "the best technology does not always win."

With the amount of innovation in the market, Mitchell believes now is a good time to invest.

"With our strategy of looking for companies in the mid to late stage, we can look across the landscape of innovative small companies and look for those ripe to grow to the next phase."

Kate Mitchell

Age: 46

Family: A great husband of 20 years and armfuls of nieces and nephews

Hometown: Stockton

Education: BA, Stanford University; MBA, Golden Gate University; executive program, Harvard Business School

Books reading: "The Interpreter of Maladies," by Jhumpa Lahiri

Favorite quote: "Kites rise highest against the wind -- not with it."
- Winston Churchill

Inspirational figure: Patricia Wells, internationally acclaimed food writer, journalist and entrepreneur