Index Ventures Blog

Thoughts on our first decade in London

Nov 30 2011 Posted in Growth, Seed, Ventures by Neil Rimer This post has View Comments

We first started investing in London in 2001 when we backed two American former consultants – Josh Hannah and Vince Monical – who had moved here to start Flutter, the business which later became Betfair. In fact, it’s pretty remarkable how far London has come in entrepreneurial terms since we made that first investment and Read more

When the Swiss Make a Move……

Nov 16 2011 Posted in Growth by Mike Volpi This post has View Comments

Index’s roots are in Geneva, Switzerland. We know that large Swiss government organizations are generally not “early adopters” of technology. So, when the folks at Zuora told us that the Touring Club of Switzerland had adopted them for their subscription billing services, we knew something was up…. Today, we are delighted to announce our Index Read more

Announcing the new €500m Index Growth fund

Nov 09 2011 Posted in Growth by Giuseppe This post has View Comments

Observing the venture industry over the past 15 years, one notices that successful startups have often been sold before reaching their full potential, especially in Europe.
In some cases an early exit is appropriate. Certain startups should be sold in the early years of their success if, for example, the size of the opportunity turns out Read more

Taking Stock – some context on last 12 months at Index

Nov 09 2011 Posted in Growth, Seed, Ventures by Neil Rimer This post has View Comments

Today as we announce the news that we’re launching Index’s second growth equity fund, a new €500m fund to invest in fast-growing businesses, it seems like a good chance to take stock and give a little context.

It’s been an incredibly busy last 12 months for us, in which:

we’ve had 15 exits including 3 IPOs (Aegerion, Read more

Investing Adventures in the Arctic Rim

Nov 09 2011 Posted in Growth, Seed, Ventures by Ben Holmes This post has View Comments

(also posted at www.ben.vc)

One area where we are committed to enhance our proposition to entrepreneurs and invest more time and money is the Nordic and Baltic area. Index Ventures has already invested a disproportionately high share of funds and time here relative to the size of the markets. Here we reflect on what Index has Read more

The Ozon.ru story

Sep 08 2011 Posted in Growth, Ventures by Giuseppe This post has View Comments

OZON’s announcement of the largest ever investment in a Russian eCommerce company marks a fantastic achievement for the whole team, and all of us here at Index are very proud to be playing a small role in this remarkable story.
Our initial investment thesis, developed early in 2007 when we first met Bernard, was (deceptively?) straightforward: Read more

Centrify: The Next Generation of Identity Management

Aug 17 2011 Posted in Growth by Mike Volpi This post has View Comments

Our crack IT man, Daniel O’Hanlon, was struggling a few months ago. A lot of us at Index had moved over to Macs and iPhones, but he had built Index’s entire identity and access management system around Microsoft Active Directory (AD). As is the case with so many IT shops out there, who have adopted Read more

Citrix acquires marketing leading Cloud.com

Jul 12 2011 Posted in Growth, Seed, Ventures by Mike Volpi This post has View Comments

Today, Cloud.com has announced that it is being acquired by Citrix (http://bit.ly/nL7696). It is a bittersweet moment for us at Index as we have loved working with Sheng and the team at Cloud.com, but Citrix made an offer that the team couldn’t refuse.
We are incredibly excited for Sheng and his colleagues at Cloud.com. They have Read more

Benjamin Franklin and the Art of Business Development

Mar 29 2011 Posted in Growth, Seed, Ventures by Mike Volpi This post has View Comments

The 1770 and 80s were tumultuous and exciting times in America’s history. The “founding fathers” had catalyzed the nascent country into declaring its independence from England and architected the foundation for what was to become one of the most remarkable ascents of national power over the next 300+ years. These were heady days. But, the Read more

Doubling Down on London – East & West

Mar 28 2011 Posted in Growth, Seed, Ventures by Neil Rimer This post has View Comments

Over the last 5 years many of us have made the 3.2 mile trip between Conduit St and Old St countless times. While we love to travel, as we’ve learned with our move to the US, there comes a time when you have to put down some roots.

So from today, the Index team in London Read more

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