Podcasts about Index Ventures

Episode 429 of The VentureFizz Podcast features Lior Div, CEO & Co-Founder of 7AI. One of the most exciting parts of this platform shift to AI is watching elite, repeat founders get back into the arena. It's often these experienced builders who have the appetite and the playbook to swing for the fences and create a truly category-defining company. Lior is exactly one of those entrepreneurs. Along with his co-founder, Yonatan Striem-Amit, this duo is uniquely qualified to build the leading agentic AI security platform. They have deep expertise in the cybersecurity industry and… by the way, they've done this before with their prior unicorn, Cybereason. 7AI empowers enterprises to shift security tasks to AI agents. The company recently made waves across the entire tech ecosystem by announcing a massive $130 million Series A round of funding led by Index Ventures, with participation from Blackstone Innovations Investments, Greylock, CRV, and Spark Capital. To put that into perspective: a $130 million Series A is the largest Series A round in the history of the cybersecurity industry. It is exactly that type of aggressive funding, along with blue-chip investors, that creates market leaders. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: A discussion around the rapidly changing landscape of AI and how that affects cybersecurity. Lior's background story, including being part of Israel's elite Unit 8200 intelligence group and how he got involved in the cybersecurity industry. Scaling Cybereason, plus why he chose to build his companies in Boston. The background story of 7AI and all the details on the company & platform. The distinct operational differences between building a traditional software business versus building a native AI company. 7AI's aggressive growth plans ahead, a look inside their company culture, and what it takes to build a trusted brand in security. The most important skills someone needs to be a successful CEO. And more! This podcast is brought to you by one of the strongest longtime supporters of the local startup ecosystem, Silicon Valley Bank, a division of First Citizens Bank. With more than 1,500 bankers and relationship advisors and $44B in loans as of Q4 2025 – SVB delivers expert guidance, specialized products and a team that knows the innovation economy inside and out. Learn more at SVB.com.

Steve Domin, Founder & CEO of Duffel, the company rebuilding the infrastructure layer of the global travel industry.Duffel is taking on one of the most complex and outdated sectors, creating modern, developer-first APIs for flights, hotels, and more. Backed by investors including Index Ventures and Benchmark, the company has raised over $50M to transform how travel is bought and sold.Steve shares the journey of building Duffel from scratch, including: Why the travel industry is fundamentally broken  The insight that led to Duffel's API-first approach  Building deep supply-side integrations with airlines and incumbents  Navigating COVID when travel demand dropped to zero  The painful reality of scaling, resetting, and rebuilding product-market fit  Where long-term defensibility comes from in complex infrastructure businesses We also explore: What makes companies like GoCardless “talent factories”  How AI is changing how modern engineering teams are built  The future of smaller, highly efficient companies  Steve's view on the next generation of AI-native products This is a masterclass in persistence, infrastructure thinking, and building through uncertainty.

Sponsored by Chargebee, subscription and revenue management → check out their startup offer: https://www.chargebee.com/startups - Samar Abbas, Founder of temporal.io https://www.linkedin.com/in/samar-abbas-381997/   - Samar Abbas, co-founder of Temporal.io, shares the journey of building an open-source platform that ensures durable execution of code, allowing developers to focus on business logic instead of handling failures and reliability. - Temporal.io originated from years of experience at companies like Amazon, Microsoft, and Uber, where Samar and his co-founder iterated on workflow and state management systems, eventually creating a new category called "durable execution." - The company's open-source approach led to rapid community adoption, with major companies like Snap using Temporal for mission-critical workloads, validating the product's value and scalability. - Temporal.io monetizes by offering a fully managed cloud service with a consumption-based pricing model, aligning customer costs with the value delivered. - The company has raised significant funding, including a $300M Series D led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), with participation from Lightspeed Venture Partners and Sapphire Ventures, reaching a $5B valuation.

Lucy Tyrrell, General Counsel at Wordsmith AI, joins Scott Brown to explore how in-house lawyers can evolve by combining legal expertise with technology, process design, and commercial thinking.In this episode of Lessons I Learned in Law, Lucy shares her journey from private practice into high-growth tech environments, culminating in her role at a fast-scaling legal AI startup backed by Index Ventures and General Catalyst. Sitting at the intersection of law and product, she offers a unique perspective on what it means to be an “AI-native” legal function—where lawyers don't just advise the business, but actively shape how legal work is delivered.Her first lesson centres on thinking like the business. Lucy explains why legal advice cannot exist in isolation and how understanding commercial drivers—often expressed through metrics—allows lawyers to prioritise effectively and deliver more impactful guidance.Her second lesson highlights the power of networks, both internally and externally. Whether navigating uncertainty, making career decisions, or solving unfamiliar problems, she emphasises the importance of knowing who to turn to and building relationships before you need them.Finally, she focuses on curiosity—encouraging lawyers to embrace new technology, experiment with AI tools, and develop “legal engineering” skills. Rather than waiting for perfection, she advocates for a mindset of testing, learning, and iterating—mirroring how modern tech teams operate.This episode is brought to you in partnership with Wordsmith AI — the legal AI platform built specifically for in-house teams.Guest RecommendationsSong: The Chain – Fleetwood Mac Resources & Links Mentioned in This EpisodeRegister your interest in joining The Lodge In-house Legal Community: https://bit.ly/TheLodgebyHB Legal Engineering Project (Slack Community for in-house lawyers): [APPLICATION FORM LINK] Wordsmith AI: https://www.wordsmith.ai/ Listen to the PodcastSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/ Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/4 YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/Connect with Heriot Brownhttps://heriotbrown.com/ About Heriot Brown: At Heriot Brown, we help lawyers find fulfilment in their careers. Beyond recruitment, we foster a thriving community of in-house legal professionals who share insights, experiences, and growth opportunities.Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe to Lessons I Learned in Law, leave a review, and share it with someone building their career in legal leadership.Chapters:00:00 Opening insight – Metrics, AI & modern legal roles 00:48 Scott introduces Lucy Tyrrell, GC at Wordsmith AI 03:39 Inside a legal tech business & AI-native legal teams 09:23 Lesson 1 – Think like the business 16:06 From private practice to in-house & startup life 20:48 Lesson 2 – Your network is everything 29:50 Career opportunities driven by relationships 31:31 Lesson 3 – Stay curious & embrace change 40:53 Hot or Not – KPIs, AI & legal team performance 47:21 Walk-on song, legal engineering & closing reflections 

Latin America is the third-largest fintech and payments market in the world — bigger than India, behind only the US and China. Gastón Irigoyen is Co-Founder and CEO of Pomelo, the fintech infrastructure company powering card issuing and processing for banks, fintechs, and global enterprises across eight markets including Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Peru, Puerto Rico, and Panama. Pomelo is backed by Index Ventures, Insight Partners, Kaszek, Monashees, and most recently Adams Street Partners in their first-ever Latin American investment.In this episode of The J Curve, Gastón unpacks the contrarian playbook behind Pomelo: why the team went regional from day zero on a $10M seed round instead of nailing one market first, how they built a "plug and play" hiring engine that's stayed at 90%+ since founding, why they tripled revenue without adding headcount, and what it actually takes to win enterprise customers like BBVA, Santander, Bci, Bancolombia, Binance, and Bybit when nobody trusts an infrastructure startup. He also shares the Series B-to-Series C lessons most founders never document — including the end-of-year memo that turned rejections into investor trust — and his framework for the AI transformation a five-year-old company is now being forced to run.This is a masterclass on regional-by-design strategy, B2B fintech go-to-market, founder-led fundraising in down markets, and building world-class companies from Latin America for the world.Subscribe to The J Curve Insider newsletter for deeper insights and follow Olga on LinkedIn and Instagram.

High-growth companies demand constant reinvention, yet most leaders underestimate how deeply roles, go-to-market models, and buyer behavior evolve over time. This episode explores what it actually takes to adapt at that level, from navigating internal resistance to aligning product and sales with how customers truly buy. Sahir Azam brings a rare operator-to-investor perspective, unpacking the realities of PLG to enterprise transitions, the cultural discipline required to scale sales, and how AI is reshaping both software and the sales function itself. The conversation also challenges common assumptions around SaaS models, tooling, and where value will accrue as AI infrastructure matures. Sahir Azam is a Partner at Index Ventures investing in AI infrastructure, and former Chief Product Officer at MongoDB where he led the Atlas transformation into a multi-billion-dollar platform. He brings a rare operator's perspective on building go-to-market discipline, scaling sales culture, and navigating the product-distribution balance that separates winners from founders who fail. Connect with Sahir: Index Ventures LinkedIn Get the Force Management framework for navigating product-go-to-market fit and building the sales discipline that separates scaling companies from those that fail: The Predictable Revenue Framework: Guide for Leaders Key takeaways from this episode:  00:00 – How Sahir Azam went from building MongoDB Atlas into a multi-billion-dollar platform to investing in the infrastructure shaping AI's next wave 06:24 – The secret to driving change inside a company before trying to win in the market 10:10 – What PLG and enterprise sales actually have in common when you design around the buyer 12:18 – What it's really like to move upmarket and why most companies underestimate the cultural shift required 23:50 – Sahir Azam's unexpected perspective on technical founders who struggle to scale 41:12 – A peek into where real value in AI is being built and why infrastructure is the leverage point 01:02:00 – What you can do right now to stay relevant as AI reshapes how top sellers operate Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: LinkedInYouTubeForce Management

In one year, Shield AI's value has leaped 140%. This after it won a contract to be the software provider to Anduril's Fury fighter jet for the U.S. Air Force. Also, Index Ventures is said to be leading a $250 million to $350 million round. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Shardul Shah, Partner at Index Ventures, was one of the first checks into Wiz — the Israeli cybersecurity company Google acquired for $32 billion. It wasn't luck. It was a decade-long relationship with the founders, a willingness to wire money on conviction alone, and a philosophy that treats risk calculus as a fool's errand.In this conversation, Eric sits down with Shardul to unpack how the Wiz deal actually came together, what Google really bought for $32 billion, and why mid-sized acquisitions almost always fail. They get into how Index thinks about doubling down across funds, why Shardul refuses to invest in a founder he's only met over Zoom, and what he saw in the Wiz founders a decade before anyone else was paying attention.They also talk about what's next — the categories Shardul is hunting, the founders he's already betting on, and why he thinks everything that happened with Wiz should stretch every entrepreneur's sense of what's possible.Eric Newcomer covers the inner workings of startups and venture capital. Subscribe for interviews with the people building and funding the next generation of tech.

Shardul Shah, Partner at Index Ventures, was one of the first checks into Wiz — the Israeli cybersecurity company Google acquired for $32 billion. It wasn't luck. It was a decade-long relationship with the founders, a willingness to wire money on conviction alone, and a philosophy that treats risk calculus as a fool's errand.In this conversation, Eric sits down with Shardul to unpack how the Wiz deal actually came together, what Google really bought for $32 billion, and why mid-sized acquisitions almost always fail. They get into how Index thinks about doubling down across funds, why Shardul refuses to invest in a founder he's only met over Zoom, and what he saw in the Wiz founders a decade before anyone else was paying attention.They also talk about what's next — the categories Shardul is hunting, the founders he's already betting on, and why he thinks everything that happened with Wiz should stretch every entrepreneur's sense of what's possible.Eric Newcomer covers the inner workings of startups and venture capital. Subscribe for interviews with the people building and funding the next generation of tech.

What will tech look like in 2026 and are we heading for an AI bubble, or a boom? To gaze into the crystal ball for the year ahead, Katie and Danny speak to VCs Hannah Seal from Index Ventures and Jon Callaghan of True Ventures in Silicon Valley, and get them to make their predictions for the year ahead and the innovations to watch out for – AI solving healthcare? Robots replacing brickies?Image: Getty Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mirelo, a German startup that is building AI to add synced sound effects to videos, has raised a $41 million seed round led by Index Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz. Also, First Voyage has raised $2.5 million in a seed funding round from a16z speedrun, SignalFire, True Global, and other investors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episode 404 of The VentureFizz Podcast features Ben Sesser, CEO & Co-Founder of BrightHire. Well this is a first… It's common to time my podcast interview around a milestone for a company like a funding announcement. But, this is the first time that in the span between my interview with the founder to the publishing date that the company announced its acquisition. Last week, BrightHire announced that the company has entered into an agreement to be acquired by Zoom. It certainly is a combination that makes a lot of sense. BrightHire is an interview intelligence platform. We saw its influence firsthand this past summer when VentureFizz hosted a series of AI job searching events. Talent acquisition leaders consistently mentioned BrightHire as the most-adopted application—a signal that immediately led me to reach out to Ben for this interview. As Ben shares, when they started, "interview intelligence" was a brand new category in hiring, and they faced plenty of doubters. But fast-forward to today, and much like the success of companies like Gong for sales teams, BrightHire's value is now obvious. But isn't that the case for all great companies in hindsight? BrightHire's investors include Flybridge, Index Ventures, 01 Advisors, Zoom Apps Fund, and others. Chapters 00:00 Intro 02:48 State of Hiring in the AI Era 06:51 Ben's Background Story 19:40 Getting Started in the Tech Industry 25:26 Origin Story of BrightHire 33:06 Creating a New Category 35:31 The Value of Video in the Hiring Process 41:17 BrightHire Screen - New AI Screening Platform 45:51 Experience of Raising Capital 48:36 Biggest Lessons Learned 50:22 Common Mistakes Companies Make When Hiring 51:57 Lightening Round Questions Episode Sponsor: As a longtime champion of the local startup ecosystem, Silicon Valley Bank supports innovative companies with the solutions and financing they need through every stage of growth. With more than 1,500 bankers and relationship advisors, and $42B in loans as of Q2 2024 – SVB delivers the right people, service and resources to support your entire financial journey. Learn more at SVB.com.

In this episode of the Revenue Builders Podcast, our hosts John Kaplan and John McMahon are joined by Dan Fougere, a venture partner at Index Ventures and former CRO of Datadog. Dan shares insights from his extensive sales career, emphasizing the importance of developing adaptive and context-specific sales playbooks. He discusses the evolution of PLG (Product-Led Growth) strategies, the integration of AI in sales processes, and the critical need for continuous learning and adaptability. The episode also touches on Dan's philanthropic efforts, including his involvement with Homes for Our Troops and other charitable initiatives.ADDITIONAL RESOURCESConnect and learn more from Dan Fougere.Connect with Dan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danfougere/Support Homes For Our Troops: https://www.hfotusa.orgSupport Imagine Reading: https://imaginereading.com/Support No Person Left Behind Outdoors: https://www.nplboutdoors.orgRead the Guide on Six Critical Priorities for Revenue Leadership in 2026: https://hubs.li/Q03JN74V0Enjoying the podcast? Sign up to receive new episodes straight to your inbox: https://hubs.li/Q02R10xN0HERE ARE SOME KEY SECTIONS TO CHECK OUT[00:02:24] Advice for New Sales Leaders[00:02:52] Adapting Sales Playbooks[00:03:27] The Importance of Flexibility in Sales Strategies[00:03:54] Understanding Product-Led Growth (PLG)[00:06:44] Case Study: Datadog's Sales Evolution[00:07:57] Challenges in Scaling Sales Strategies[00:08:51] Building a Sales Organization for the Future[00:12:14] The Role of a CRO in Modern Sales[00:14:48] Adapting to Market Changes[00:26:23] Traits of Effective Sales Leaders[00:34:03] The Tip of the Spear: Leading from the Front[00:34:16] Medallia: Building a Sales Process from Scratch[00:36:58] Profile of a Successful Sales Leader[00:37:47] Recruiting and Building a High-Performance Team[00:39:25] The Importance of High Standards in Hiring[00:52:41] AI's Impact on Sales and Forecasting[01:02:07] Giving Back: Charitable EndeavorsHIGHLIGHT QUOTES[00:03:21] “A big mistake is trying to force fit a playbook from a previous company into a new company.”[00:06:01] “Approach it with a beginner's mind… it's actually an advantage you only get once.”[00:10:55] “Build your outbound before you need it, because at some point you're going to need it.”[00:13:33] “98.5% of companies realize, ‘I wish I had a great sales organization to go with this great PLG motion.'”[00:19:07] “The thing that tops people out is the inability to adapt and collaborate—they become too rigid.”[00:22:25] “If you know in your heart your team is mediocre, you're never going to be great. Raise those standards.”[00:31:36] “Don't just assume you can get rid of BDRs and have AI do it. I don't see anybody telling me that's working yet." Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week, we chat with Rex Woodbury! Rex is the Founder and Managing Partner of Daybreak, an early-stage venture capital firm based in New York. Daybreak is a first-check firm built on the belief that the companies shaping the future will be those improving the lives of the next generation.Before starting Daybreak, Rex was a Partner at Index Ventures, where he invested in consumer technology and the creators building online communities. Beyond investing, Rex is also the writer behind Digital Native, a widely read weekly publication exploring the intersection of technology, culture, and the internet with over 70,000 readers each week.With his unique perspective as both an investor and a storyteller of the digital age, he brings deep insight into how technology continues to shape how we live, work, and connect.✨ This episode is presented by Brex.Brex: brex.com/trailblazerspodThis episode is supported by RocketReach, Gusto, OpenPhone & Athena.RocketReach: rocketreach.co/trailblazersGusto: gusto.com/trailblazersQuo: Quo.com/trailblazersAthena: athenago.me/Erica-WengerFollow Us!Rex Woodbury: @rex_woodburyDaybreak: @daybreak_fund@thetrailblazerspod: Instagram, YouTube, TikTokErica Wenger: @erica_wenger

Send us a textLearn how you can scale your care team with AI: https://link.CareCo.ai/rmvhvqIn this enlightening episode, I sit down with Chris Ellis, CEO of Thatch, following their impressive $40 million Series B funding round led by Index Ventures with strategic investment from ADP Ventures. Chris breaks down how Thatch is revolutionizing employee health benefits through Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements (ICHRA), allowing employees to choose their own health plans while giving employers cost control and administrative simplicity. We dive deep into the fundamental problems with employer-based health insurance, explore the bipartisan political momentum behind health insurance reform, and discuss how decoupling insurance from employment could realign incentives throughout the healthcare system. Chris provides fascinating insights into how this shift could enable true preventive care, extend insurer-patient relationships, and create the consumer-driven healthcare marketplace that has been decades in the making. This conversation connects perfectly with the current administration's focus on patient empowerment and transparency, making it a must-listen for anyone interested in the future of American healthcare.Timestaps: 00:00:00 - Thatch's $40M Series B Led by Index Ventures00:03:29 - How Thatch's ICHRA Model Actually Works00:12:32 - Government's $1,200 Tax Credit for Small Businesses00:25:94 - The Cancer Detection Problem: Why Insurers Won't Invest in Prevention00:28:47 - The Vision: Decoupling Insurance from Employment00:40:49 - GLP-1 Coverage Dilemma: When ROI Takes Too Long

Practice Leader at UpperEdge Adam Mansfield and The Information's Kevin McLaughlin talk with TITV Host Akash Pasricha about Salesforce's challenges selling its AgentForce AI software and the murky ROI for customers. We also talk with The Information's Aaron Holmes and Adam Mansfield about Microsoft's new playbook for Copilot. We get into the evolving role of product management with Sahir Azam, the new partner at Index Ventures, and finally, we talk with Kareem Amin, CEO of Clay, about how his company is defining a new role in go-to-market.Articles discussed on this episode: https://www.theinformation.com/articles/marc-benioff-said-ai-easy-crazy-team-salesforce-proved-wronghttps://www.theinformation.com/articles/microsoft-hopes-hastened-ai-rollout-price-discounts-can-fuel-office-365-growthTITV airs on YouTube, X and LinkedIn at 10AM PT / 1PM ET. Or check us out wherever you get your podcasts.Subscribe to: - The Information on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theinformation4080/?sub_confirmation=1- The Information: https://www.theinformation.com/subscribe_hSign up for the AI Agenda newsletter: https://www.theinformation.com/features/ai-agenda

The most successful enterprises are about to become autonomous — and Eléonore Crespo, Co-CEO of Pigment, is building the nervous system that makes it possible. In this conversation, Eléonore reveals how her $400 million AI platform is already running supply chains for Coca-Cola, powering finance for the hottest newly public companies like Figma and Klarna, and processing thousands of financial scenarios for Uber and Snowflake faster and more accurately than any human team ever could.Eléonore predicts Excel will outlive most AI companies (but maybe only as a user interface, not a calculation engine) explains why she deliberately chose to build from Paris instead of Silicon Valley, and shares her contrarian take on why the AI revolution will create more CFOs, not fewer.You'll discover why Pigment's three-agent system (Analyst, Modeler, Planner) avoids the hallucination problems plaguing other AI companies, how they achieved human-level accuracy in financial analysis, and the accelerating timeline for fully autonomous enterprise planning that will make your current workforce obsolete.PigmentWebsite - https://www.pigment.comTwitter - https://x.com/gopigmentEléonore CrespoLinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/eleonorecrespoFIRSTMARKWebsite - https://firstmark.comTwitter - https://twitter.com/FirstMarkCapMatt Turck (Managing Director)LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/turck/Twitter - https://twitter.com/mattturck(00:00) Intro (01:22) Building Pigment: 500 Employees, $400M Raised, 60% US Revenue (03:20) From Quantum Physics to Google to Index Ventures (06:56) Why Being a VC Was the Perfect Founder Training Ground (11:35) The Impatience Factor: What Makes Great Founders (13:27) Hiring for AI Fluency in the Modern Enterprise (14:54) Pigment's Internal AI Strategy: Committees and Guardrails (17:30) The Three AI Agents: Analyst, Modeler, and Planner (22:15) Why Three Agents Instead of One: Technical Architecture (24:10) Agent Coordination: How the Supervisor Agent Works (24:46) Real Example: Budget Variance Analysis Across 50 Products (27:15) The Human-in-the-Loop Approach: Recommendations Not Actions (27:36) Solving Hallucination: Why Structured Data Changes Everything (30:08) Behind the Scenes: Verification Agents and Audit Trails (31:57) Beyond Accuracy: Enabling the Impossible at Scale (36:21) Will AI Finally Kill Excel? Eleanor's Contrarian Take (38:23) The Vision: Fully Autonomous Enterprise Planning (40:55) Real-Time Supply Chain Adaptation: The Ukraine Example (42:20) Multi-LLM Strategy: OpenAI, Anthropic, and Partner Integration (44:32) Token Economics: Why Pigment Isn't Token-Intensive (48:30) Customer Adoption: Excitement vs. Change Management Challenges (50:51) Top-Down AI Demand vs. Bottom-Up Implementation Reality (53:08) The Reskilling Challenge: Everyone Becomes a Mini CFO (57:38) Building a Global Company from Europe During COVID (01:00:02) Managing a US Executive Team from Paris (01:01:14) SI Partner Strategy: Why Boutique Firms Come Before Deloitte (01:03:28) The $100 Billion Vision: Beyond Performance Management (01:05:08) Success Metrics: Innovation Over Revenue

At EUVC Summit 2025, few sessions packed as much history, humility, and hard-earned wisdom as the conversation with Bernard Dallé and Thomas Kristensen.What began as a one-man show in the early '90s—when venture in Europe was barely a concept—has become one of the most respected platforms in the global industry.“I joined Index before it even existed as a venture firm. It was still Index Securities.”This was more than a talk. It was a journey through time, with insights for every fund manager—new or seasoned—building for the long haul.Before Skype, before unicorns, before European VC had a flag to wave, it was about scraping together conviction and capital.Index Fund I: $17 millionRaised in 1999, following years of groundwork and trialNo real ecosystem, no pattern recognition, and no “easy” capital“You can't raise without a track record. So we used Fund I to create it.”And then came the landmark deal: Skype's acquisition by eBay for $3–4 billion. That one outcome shifted the trajectory of Index—and of European venture as a whole.“After Skype, we could raise with more ease. It gave us credibility.”One of the standout themes was Index's philosophy around team building:“The hires that worked? People we knew—or people who joined slightly below partner level and grew into the role.”In contrast, hiring senior talent cold—especially across geographies—proved far harder. Culture cohesion was key, and misalignment at the top often broke the system.The advice was clear:Grow talent internally when you canOnly bring in outsiders when they're “known entities”Avoid parachuting in partners who haven't lived the firm's values“At some point, having someone senior focused purely on operations becomes essential.”This wasn't about back office—it was about survival.Today's LP demands include:ESG complianceFund reportingExit prepOngoing fundraisingPortfolio support“You need to start thinking about this 10 years in advance.”“It takes 15 years to become somewhat successful in this business. And once you get there—you need to start thinking about who'll take over.”Venture isn't just about spotting founders. It's about building the kind of firm that can back them for decades to come.Bernard and Thomas left the stage with no fluff—just a quiet reminder:Build slowly. Hire wisely. Think in generations.And good luck to all of us doing the same.The Early Days: A Market Without MomentumScaling a Firm: Culture First, Titles LaterOps Matter More Than You ThinkThe Final Lesson: Play the Long Game

Notion te regala 3 meses del plan Business + IA ilimitada

Parag Agrawal is the co-founder and CEO of Parallel, a startup building search infrastructure for the web's second user: AIs. Before launching Parallel, Parag spent over a decade at Twitter, where he served as CTO and later CEO during a period of intense transformation, as well as public scrutiny. In this episode, Parag shares what he learned from his time at Twitter, why the web must evolve to serve AI at massive scale, how Parallel is tackling “deep research” challenges by prioritizing accuracy over speed, and the design choices that make their APIs uniquely agent-friendly. We also discuss: Why Parallel designs for AI as the primary customer Lessons from 11 years at Twitter and applying them to a startup Potential business models to keep the web open for AI Hiring philosophy: balancing high potential and experienced talent The evolving role of engineers in an AI-assisted world Why “agents” are finally becoming useful in production And much more… References: Bloomberg launch coverage: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-08-14/twitter-ex-ceo-parag-agrawal-is-moving-past-his-elon-musk-drama Clay: https://www.clay.com/ Index Ventures: https://www.indexventures.com/ Josh Kopelman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jkopelman/ KLA: https://www.kla.com/ OpenAI: https://openai.com/ Parallel: https://parallel.ai/ Patrick Collison: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickcollison/ Stripe: https://stripe.com/ Where to find Parag: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paragagr/ X/Twitter: https://x.com/paraga Where to find Todd: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/toddj0/ X/Twitter: https://x.com/tjack Where to find First Round Capital: Website: https://firstround.com/ First Round Review: https://review.firstround.com/ X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/firstround YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FirstRoundCapital This podcast on all platforms: https://review.firstround.com/podcast Timestamps: (1:26) Founding Parallel with an AI-first mission (3:23) From Twitter CTO/CEO to startup founder (6:20) What the AI era spells for companies (7:58) The CEO to founder pipeline (11:18) Reflections on Twitter's transformation (17:48) How Parallel was born (22:31) Early use cases for Parallel (31:42) How has Parallel's ICP changed? (34:37) AI's impact on competitor dynamics (36:06) When should founders launch? (37:43) Parag's fundraising framework (40:14) Building a high-impact engineering team (44:49) Counterproductive uses of AI (47:35) How will the software engineer role evolve? (49:10) How are Parallel's customers using AI? (53:27) Defining agents in 2025 (55:02) Parallel's long-term vision (1:03:43) Parag's growth as a founder

Ross went from lawyer to self-taught engineer to CTO at a 1,600-person unicorn—then quit to build Wordsmith AI. In 18 months, he's raised $30M and grown to mid-single-digit millions in ARR by doing everything differently. He tested co-founders by starting fights. Built in Slack for 10 months before adding a web interface. Kept his team at 8 people while competitors hired dozens. This episode breaks down his exact playbook: how to test co-founders before committing, why attacking someone's core job kills your sales cycle, and how he accidentally created the hottest seed round by ghosting every VC. Plus the reality of building a rocket ship with a newborn at home.Why You Should Listen:Why starting fights with co-founders can be a great way to test conflict.Why keeping your team at 8 people until PMF lets you move fasterThe accidental fundraising playbook that made VCs go crazyHow having a baby forces you to be 10x more productive as a founderKeywords:Wordsmith AI, Ross McNairn, AI legal tech, product market fit, co-founder selection, Series A, Index Ventures, Slack integration, startup pivots, legal AI00:00:00 - Intro00:01:31 - From Lawyer to CTO00:03:45 - Starting Wordsmith AI00:06:41 - Testing Co-Founder Relationships00:14:42 - Building the MVP00:20:44 - First Product Iterations00:26:39 - Finding Product Market Fit Through Slack00:37:42 - Go-to-Market Using Webinars and Influencers00:47:00 - Balancing Startup Life with a 10-Month-Old BabySend me a message to let me know what you think!

Martin Mignot is a Partner at Index Ventures, the best-performing fund in the world right now. In the last three months, they have sold Wiz for $ 32 billion, sold Scale for $14.9 billion, and IPO'd Figma as the largest investor. In addition to this, they are the largest or second-largest shareholders in Roblox, Revolut, Adyen and Datadog.  Agenda for Today: 00:00 – Why Gross Margin is the Biggest Sin in the Early Days 04:50 – Why Most People Shouldn't Become VCs 07:40 – Why it is BS to Suggest the Future of VC is Boutique vs Mega Fund 09:10 – Do Multi-Stage Funds Really Give a S*** About Seed 13:50 – The Founder Trait That Trumps Market Size Every Time 18:45 – How Spotify Still Haunts Index Ventures & What They Learn From It? 28:50 – The Brutal Truth About European vs. U.S. Founders 34:20 – The Case for a European AI Giant (and Who Might Build It) 40:50 – The Return of the 7-Day Founder Work Week 52:10 – Biggest Lessons from Leading Revolut's Series A 56:40 – Betting Against Nick Storonsky? Don't. 1:03:10 – The One Competitor Index Ventures Admires    

Welcome back to another episode of Upside at the EUVC Podcast, where Dan Bowyer, Mads Jensen of SuperSeed and Lomax from Outsized Ventures unpack what's happening in European tech and venture capital.This week: Why Meta and Microsoft are minting cash from AI, what Figma's IPO signals for SaaS, whether the EU got rolled in its new trade deal with the US, and how Europe's AI scene is finally delivering billion‑dollar exits. Plus: OpenAI's new “Study Mode” and Harry Stebbings' Project Europe—an “anti‑YC” deep‑tech accelerator for founders under 25.

On Figma's first day trading on the NYSE, its stock soared over 250%, closing at $115.50 and giving the design software company a market cap near $68 billion. That's more than triple the $20 billion Adobe offered before regulators killed that deal in 2023. Silicon Valley is celebrating. The IPO raised $1.2 billion, mostly benefiting early investors like Sequoia, Greylock, Index Ventures, and Kleiner Perkins, whose combined stakes are now worth about $24 billion. It's a huge win for Silicon Valley VCs after a prolonged IPO drought that began in 2022.Featured Guests: Ben Narasin, founder and general partner, Tenacity VC | Jaya Gupta, partner, Foundation Capital

This week on the Newcomer Podcast, we're joined by a very special guest: Danny Rimer, seasoned investor and longtime partner at Index Ventures, for a timely conversation around Figma's highly anticipated IPO.Danny takes us behind the scenes of Index's early bet on Figma and its visionary CEO Dylan Field, sharing how the deal came together and what made the design platform stand out in a crowded startup landscape. From there, we zoom out to talk about the current venture capital climate — what's changed, what's stayed the same, and what the smartest investors are watching right now.We also dig into AI's evolving role in the startup ecosystem, the tension between hype and real value, and where Danny sees the next big opportunities emerging. Whether you're a founder, investor, or just love a good origin story, this is an episode you won't want to miss.Timecodes:00:00 Introduction to Danny Rimer02:29 How Rimer met Figma and the beginnings of design as a category16:42 Figma's failed Adobe deal and comeback25:39 How Index approaches AI deals 31:00 AI's iPhone moment and looking beyond the chatbot39:10 Shifts in the venture capital industry

Index Ventures partner Jahanvi Sardana has a reminder for all those founders worried about finding TAM for their product or service: many startups have emerged from markets that, at the time, were essentially nonexistent. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bonus track avec un super VC cette semaine !Martin Mignot, Partner chez Index Ventures, le fonds qui a accompagné dès leurs débuts certains des plus beaux succès de la tech comme Facebook, Revolut ou Slack. Ils viennent de publier un guide de 123 pages pour aider les fondateurs européens à conquérir l'Amérique – en s'appuyant sur l'analyse de plus de 500 startups, des enquêtes terrain, et des interviews de fondateurs. Fait marquant : ¾ d'entre eux citent les clients – pas le capital – comme moteur principal de leur expansion. Martin est au cœur de cette transformation, alors on va parler de cette nouvelle géographie de l'ambition tech, du rôle des VCs, et de sa vision pour l'écosystème européen. Épisodes cités :

At the EUVC Summit, Bernard Dalle (formerly of Index Ventures) and Thomas Kristensen (LGT Capital Partners) shared candid reflections on how to build a venture firm from the inside out. Instead of fixating on star hires and grand strategies, their talk emphasized the compounding power of cultural alignment, junior talent development, and early operational investment.Drawing on first-hand experience, they unpack what it takes to build enduring institutions—where team, trust, and time matter more than titles.Whether you're raising your first fund or scaling your platform team, this conversation offers timeless lessons from one of Europe's most respected firms.Here's what's covered:00:45 Betting on People: Why hiring for cultural fit beats chasing CVs02:20 Long-Term Talent Playbooks: Junior hires, long runway, big impact03:50 Under-hiring on Purpose: Why Index rarely hired GPs straight out05:10 The Operations Edge: Building support teams early pays dividends07:00 The Index Blueprint: Early days with David, Pascal, and a deep ops bench08:30 Institutional Memory: Capturing partner insights across the portfolio

Martin Mignot s'installe dans le fauteuil de tech 45' cette semaine ! Ce frenchie est une star du VC mondial, Partner chez Index Ventures, il publie aujourd'hui un guide à destination des fondateurs. "Winning in the US" s'adresse aux startups qui sont de plus en plus « born global » — misant très tôt sur une présence transatlantique, malgré les incertitudes économiques et politiques. C'est particulièrement vrai pour les startups européennes : 64 % d'entre elles se développent désormais aux États-Unis dès le stade pré-seed ou seed, contre 33 % il y a cinq ans. Ces 123 pages regorgent de témoignages et stratégies de fondateurs et d'opérateurs parmi les startups les plus emblématiques : Spotify, Revolut, Adyen, Pigment ou DeepL…Episode à suivre ce vendredi, en exclu pour tech 45'

Today on the pod, we're bringing you two of the liveliest panels from the 2025 Cerebral Valley AI Summit, held this week in London.Both panels — “The Autonomous Vehicle Rollout” and “Investing in 2030” — explore one of the major themes from the event: where AI is poised to show up next in our everyday lives, beyond the chatbot. Think voice, devices, and even your car.First up, we'll hear from Uber CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, and Alex Kendall, Co-founder and CEO of Wayve, who are teaming up to bring self-driving cars to the UK.Then we turn to the investor perspective, with top European VCs — Philippe Botteri of Accel, Tom Hulme of Google Ventures, and Jan Hammer of Index Ventures — on where they see the biggest AI opportunities for founders in the years ahead.

Eléonore Crespo is the Co-Founder and CEO @ Pigment, one of Europe's fastest-growing companies. With Pigment, Eleonore has raised over $397M from the best in the world including ICONIQ, Greenoaks and IVP to name a few. Prior to Pigment, Eléonore was on the other side of the table as an investor with Index Ventures. In Today's Episode We Discuss:  [04:10] “I had 3 surgeries. That's when I knew I had to become a founder.” [06:50] Why Index Ventures isn't on her cap table [08:40] Eleonore's CIA-style co-founder hunt (she literally made a target list) [11:50] Co-CEOs: “We talk 3x a day. That's our superpower.” [13:30] The boutique coffee metaphor for product excellence [15:40] Yuri Milner's 4 traits of legendary founders (one is shocking) [17:30] “Hiring is everything. I hunt talent like a football scout.” [19:00] Wild Olympic Games story → led to hiring a top CFO [24:50] How she filters out title-chasers and political hires [29:30] “Too much process? I make teams list the dumbest ones.” [33:00] Her blunt answer on whether Europe can produce scale execs [35:00] Why she raised so much money… even when they didn't need it [38:50] Board power is real: “They can fire you. I've seen it.” [43:30] Rob Ward's counter-cyclical advice: double down during a downturn [44:50] “We closed a massive US deal… at 2am… while drenched in rain.” [47:10] Selling into the US as a European founder—her full playbook [50:20] The hardest part of being a CEO no one talks about [54:00] “Children remind you what happiness is.” [56:30] “I don't fast. That would make me unhappy.” On longevity culture [59:20] Why her husband knows nothing about Pigment [01:04:20] “Forget $50B. I want to build a $200B company.” Follow Eleonore Crespo LinkedIn: Eleonore Crespo Pigment: pigment.com Subscribe to 20VC for more conversations with the world's best founders and investors.  

Origins host Beezer Clarkson sits down with her colleague Nate Leung, fellow LP and Partner at Sapphire Partners, to riff on  her recent conversation with Nina Achadjian, Partner at Index Ventures. Together, Beezer and Nate walk through the steps Index took to become a franchise - the decisions they made and the mistakes they avoided, plus the firm's ability to pick excellent companies early. They discuss the edge GPs gain by investing with a broader purpose, as well as the LP POV on the need for distributions and consolidation in 2025.Learn more about Sapphire Partners: sapphireventures.com/sapphire-partnersLearn more about OpenLP: openlp.vcLearn more about Asylum Ventures: asylum.vcLearn more about Index Ventures: indexventures.comSubscribe to the OpenLP newsletter for a monthly roundup of the latest venture insights, including the newest Origins episodes, delivered straight to your inbox.CHAPTERS:(0:00) Welcome to Origins2:04-Keeping the Main Thing the Main Thing to Build a Franchise3:43-Liquidity and IPOs(4:45) 2025 - The Year of Reckoning(7:13) Let There Be More Distributions9:34-Finding the Great Companies Early

After nearly a decade at Index Ventures, where he backed standout fintech companies like Plaid, Persona, Lithic, and Pilot, Mark Goldberg left to launch Chemistry, an early-stage venture firm. Founded alongside Kristina Shen and Ethan Kurzweil, the $350 million fund is part of a growing trend in venture capital: seasoned investors breaking out from large platforms to build more focused, boutique outfits. Today on Equity, Mary Ann Azevedo caught up with Goldberg about what led him to make the move, what Chemistry is all about, and how the venture landscape has evolved over the past few years. Listen to the full episode to hear more about: The state of fintech, a sector Goldberg has long had his eye on—and why he sees “a lot more tech-fin than fintech” these days Why those waiting for a wave of fintech IPOs might be in for a long hold What he's watching for in 2025 and beyond, from the impact of AI on fraud to shifting deal activity, including a pickup in M&A and secondaries Equity will be back with our weekly news roundup on Friday, so don't miss it! Equity is TechCrunch's flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday.  Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod. For the full episode transcript, for those who prefer reading over listening, check out our full archive of episodes here. Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. We'd also like to thank TechCrunch's audience development team. Thank you so much for listening, and we'll talk to you next time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nina Achadjian is a Partner at Index Ventures, where she invests across seed, venture, and growth stages in AI, enterprise software, and vertical SaaS. She sits down with Beezer Clarkson, LP at Sapphire Partners, and the two discuss Nina's predictions for M&A in 2025, the importance of product market fit and what Nina looks for in a new hire. Plus, the two dig into Index's recent IPO with ServiceTitan, and how they managed a high-profile exit in the difficult IPO market of 2024.Learn more about Sapphire Partners: sapphireventures.com/sapphire-partnersLearn more about OpenLP: openlp.vcLearn more about Asylum Ventures: asylum.vcLearn more about Top Tier Capital Partners: ttcp.comSubscribe to the OpenLP newsletter for a monthly roundup of the latest venture insights, including the newest Origins episodes, delivered straight to your inbox.CHAPTERS:(0:00) Welcome to Origins(1:49) The Trading Floors of London and New York4:54-The ServiceTitan IPO(15:22) The Exit Window for SaaS Companies in 2025(17:45) Predictions & AI(25:10) More M&A vs. IPO(30:34) Investment Lessons Learned at Index(34:59) Hiring People Who Become Great Investors(39:03) Hive & the Armenian Tech Ecosystem

Wes Kao is an entrepreneur, coach, and advisor. She co-founded the live learning platform Maven, backed by First Round and a16z. Before Maven, Wes co-created the altMBA with best-selling author Seth Godin. Today, Wes teaches a popular course on executive communication and influence. Through her course and one-on-one coaching, she's helped thousands of operators, founders, and product leaders master the art of influence through clear, compelling communication. Known for her surgical writing style and no-BS frameworks, Wes returns to the pod to deliver a tactical master class on becoming a sharper, more persuasive communicator—at work, in meetings, and across your career.What you'll learn:1. The #1 communication mistake leaders make—and Wes's proven fix to instantly gain buy-in2. Wes's MOO (Most Obvious Objection) framework to consistently anticipate and overcome pushback in meetings3. How to master concise communication—including Wes's tactical approach for brevity without losing meaning4. The art of executive presence: actionable strategies for conveying confidence and clarity, even under pressure5. The “sales, then logistics” framework—and why your ideas keep getting ignored without it6. The power of “signposting”—and why executives skim your docs without it7. Exactly how to give feedback that works—Wes's “strategy, not self-expression” principle to drive behavior change without friction8. Practical ways to instantly improve your writing, emails, and Slack messages—simple techniques Wes teaches executives9. Managing up like a pro: Wes's clear, practical advice on earning trust, building credibility, and aligning with senior leaders10. Career accelerators: specific habits and tactics from Wes for growing your influence, advancing your career, and standing out11. Real-world communication examples—Wes breaks down real scenarios she's solved, providing step-by-step solutions you can copy today—Brought to you by:• WorkOS—Modern identity platform for B2B SaaS, free up to 1 million MAUs• Vanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security• Coda—The all-in-one collaborative workspace—Where to find Wes Kao:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/weskao/• Website: https://www.weskao.com/• Maven course: https://maven.com/wes-kao/executive-communication-influence—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction to Wes Kao(05:34) Working with Wes(06:58) The importance of communication(10:44) Sales before logistics(18:20) Being concise(24:31) Books to help you become a better writer(27:30) Signposting and formatting(32:05) How to develop and practice your communication skills(40:41) Slack communication(42:23) Confidence in communication(50:17) The MOO framework(54:00) Staying calm in high-stakes conversations(57:36) Which tactic to start with(58:53) Effective tactics for managing up(01:04:53) Giving constructive feedback: strategy, not self-expression(01:09:39) Delegating effectively while maintaining high standards(01:16:36) The swipe file: collecting inspiration for better communication(01:19:59) Leveraging AI for better communication(01:22:01) Lightning round—Referenced:• Persuasive communication and managing up | Wes Kao (Maven, Seth Godin, Section4): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/persuasive-communication-wes-kao• Making Meta | Andrew ‘Boz' Bosworth (CTO): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/making-meta-andrew-boz-bosworth-cto• Communication is the job: https://boz.com/articles/communication-is-the-job• Maven: https://maven.com/• Sales, not logistics: https://newsletter.weskao.com/p/sales-not-logistics• How to be more concise: https://newsletter.weskao.com/p/how-to-be-concise• Signposting: How to reduce cognitive load for your reader: https://newsletter.weskao.com/p/sign-posting-how-to-reduce-cognitive• Airbnb's Vlad Loktev on embracing chaos, inquiry over advocacy, poking the bear, and “impact, impact, impact” (Partner at Index Ventures, Airbnb GM/VP Product): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/impact-impact-impact-vlad-loktev• Tone and words: Use accurate language: https://newsletter.weskao.com/p/tone-and-words-use-accurate-language• Quote by Joan Didion: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/264509-i-don-t-know-what-i-think-until-i-write-it• Strategy, not self-expression: How to decide what to say when giving feedback: https://newsletter.weskao.com/p/strategy-not-self-expression• Tobi Lütke's leadership playbook: Playing infinite games, operating from first principles, and maximizing human potential (founder and CEO of Shopify): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/tobi-lutkes-leadership-playbook• The CEDAF framework: Delegating gets easier when you get better at explaining your ideas: https://newsletter.weskao.com/p/delegating-and-explaining• Swipe file: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swipe_file• Apple Notes: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/notes/id1110145109• Claude: https://claude.ai/new• ChatGPT: https://chatgpt.com/• Arianna Huffington's phone bed charging station (Oak): https://www.amazon.com/Arianna-Huffingtons-Phone-Charging-Station/dp/B079C5DBF4?th=1• The Harlan Coben Collection on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/browse/genre/81180221• Oral-B Pro 1000 rechargeable electric toothbrush: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003UKM9CO/• The Best Electric Toothbrush: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-electric-toothbrush/• Glengarry Glen Ross on Prime Video: https://www.amazon.com/Glengarry-Glen-Ross-James-Foley/dp/B002NN5F7A• 1,000,000: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/1000000—Recommended books:• On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction: https://www.amazon.com/Writing-Well-Classic-Guide-Nonfiction/dp/0060891548/• Stein on Writing: A Master Editor of Some of the Most Successful Writers of Our Century Shares His Craft Techniques and Strategies: https://www.amazon.com/Stein-Writing-Successful-Techniques-Strategies/dp/0312254210/• On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft: https://www.amazon.com/Writing-Memoir-Craft-Stephen-King/dp/1982159375• Several Short Sentences About Writing: https://www.amazon.com/Several-Short-Sentences-About-Writing/dp/0307279413/• High Output Management: https://www.amazon.com/High-Output-Management-Andrew-Grove/dp/0679762884• Your Brain at Work: Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long: https://www.amazon.com/Your-Brain-Work-Revised-Updated/dp/0063003155/—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

We're opening in a celebratory mood this week with Wiz's big exit to Google, which if it holds will offer some much needed liquidity to venture firms and their LPs. It's a big win for several of Silicon Valley's heavy hitters, including Sequoia's Doug Leone, Index Ventures' Shardul Shah, and Greenoaks' Neil Mehta. IPOs are looking a little bit more uncertain, however. Plus, Deel's allleged corporate espionage at Rippling has all the makings of a great HR tech spy thriller. Next up, we touch on the new liberal "abundance" agenda, which has more than a few similarities to Marc Andreessen's "Time to Build" manifesto. In the second half of our show, Eric sits down with Browserbase CEO Paul Klein to discuss their tools for running headless browsers and their rapid growth over the past year.Produced by ⁠Christopher Gates⁠

Conversé con Arturo Sánchez, cofundador y CEO de Sofía Salud, una startup de seguros médicos todo en uno. Arturo fue uno de mis primeros invitados al podcast cuando Sofía tenía un enfoque B2C que no terminaba de despegar. Pero hoy, tras hacer un pivot hacia un modelo B2B dirigido a PYMEs, proyecta crecer más 200% este año.A la fecha, Sofía ha levantado $25M de inversionistas como Index Ventures, Kaszek y Ribbit Capital.-En Startupeable hacemos más gracias a  Notion, la plataforma todo en uno para organizar tu startup. Centraliza documentos, tareas y bases de datos en un solo lugar: el cerebro digital de tu negocio, ahora con IA para agilizar tu trabajo.Nos aliamos con Notion para regalarte 3 meses gratis del plan Plus y acceso ilimitado a su IA.

In today's 40 Minute Mentor episode, we're joined by Molly Alter, Partner at Northzone, the multi-stage fund partnering with Founders from Seed to Growth, across Europe and the US.  Molly started her career in VC in 2016, straight out of Harvard University. Since then, Molly has worked with some of the biggest funds in the industry, including Insight Partners and Index Ventures.  Now, at Northzone and back in New York, Molly focuses on vertical SaaS and AI, across early and growth stages.  In today's episode, we dive into her career in VC and her transatlantic focus. 

Josh Kamdjou is CEO and Founder of Sublime Security. Josh started Sublime after realizing just how easy it was for him to break into companies with phishing emails. He wanted to build a solution that better addressed the tailored environment of each organization such as historical data. Now the company has raised over $80 million from leading VCs such as IVP, Index Ventures, and Decibel. Before Sublime, Josh worked as a DoD hacker for 9 years.In the episode we discuss his emphasis on leveraging the attacker perspective, the fundamental difficulties of email security, his conviction in product-led growth, and more.Website: https://sublime.security/Sponsor: VulnCheck

George Sivulka, hailed as a wunderkind by Peter Thiel, is the founder of Hebbia, a groundbreaking AI company revolutionizing financial research. Having worked at NASA as a teenager, he later earned a math degree from Stanford in just 2.5 years. George has secured $130M in funding for Hebbia at a $700M valuation, backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Index Ventures, Google Ventures, and Thiel himself. Hebbia's AI platform, trusted by firms like Centerview Partners and Charlesbank, has driven a 15x revenue growth in 18 months by pioneering RAG techniques that ensure LLM outputs remain within company-sanctioned data.In this conversation, we discuss:How Hebbia is reshaping financial research with retrieval-augmented generation (RAG).The leap from academia to entrepreneurship—how George Sivulka turned research into real-world impact.The expanding role of AI in high-stakes industries where precision is critical.The ethical challenges of AI and how transparency can make or break trust.Why AI agents will change knowledge work—but not in the way you might think.The future of AI-powered research and its impact on decision-making.Resources:Subscribe to the AI & The Future of Work Newsletter: https://aiandwork.beehiiv.com/subscribe Connect with Sivulka on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sivulka/ AI fun fact article: https://www.chicagobooth.edu/review/what-ai-sees-market-that-you-might-not On How AI-Powered Writing is reshaping Enterprise Content Creation: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/may-habib-ceo-of-writer-discusses-llms-and-the/id1476885647?i=1000628256870 

On this episode of the Scouting For Growth podcast, Sabine VdL talks to Michael Lingelbach, CEO and co-founder of Hedra—a company that specializes in long-form generative video and agentic AI solutions. In just over a year, Michael and his team have seen explosive growth and raised backing from leading tech investors, including Index Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz. From marketing and social media campaigns to corporate training videos, Hedra’s technology is revolutionizing how we produce immersive, human-like content at scale. Michael and I discuss the power of agentic AI, the ethical dimensions of automated digital creation, and how he’s charting new paths for startups, enterprises, and content creators alike. KEY TAKEAWAYS We’re still very early in ‘generative media’. Stable Diffusion came out 2 years ago for images, video models have been maturing rapidly, but right now they’re focused on small fragments of content not cohesive brand storytelling. Building models that can not only generate compelling dialogue performances, and incorporate consistent identities and assets is a challenging research problem and something we’re pushing on. When people first think about generative AI they think about increasing the volume of content, but that typically isn’t a problem. The predominant concern of most marketers now is engagement. We live in a limited attention economy, so the focus now – in my opinion – is how to make really good content that’s going to hook people. For short-form content you’re usually trying to hook the viewer’s attention in the first 5-10 seconds as they’re scrolling through Tik Tok style feed. You want bright colours, a crazy character or a hook like “OMG you’re not going to believe what we’re going to talk about today!” With long-form content you’re optimising for retention. You still want the viewer to be engaged, but usually they want information or entertainment. We think the big opportunity is making it accessible for product/social marketing managers to have all this powerful technology to generate video and have a workflow were they’re working together with AI to make compelling content. That doesn’t require them to outsource to an external agency. We then get rapid feedback cycles rather than drawn out ones when you’re working with an external partner. BEST MOMENTS ‘We’re focused on bringing this technology from something that’s fun to play with to something that’s a strong part of an enterprise/brand marketing workflow.’ ‘Are you conveying information that makes the user feel like you’re conveying information that’s also usable for them? That’s the job of a content creator.’ ‘Video is the most natural form of communication; people have been talking to each other face-to-face for a long time!’ ‘Video is a massive market and it’s growing rapidly, it’s where most advertising, marketing information, learning and spending is shifting towards.’ ABOUT THE GUEST Michael Lingelbach is the CEO and co-founder of Hedra. While pursuing his PhD at Stanford, Michael worked closely with world-renowned AI researchers and developed a deep interest in pushing the boundaries of long-form video generation. Seeing an opportunity to combine advanced visual models with natural, human-centered dialogue, he set out to create a platform that produces fully generated video and immersive, conversational virtual avatars. Under Michael’s leadership, Hedra attracted early backing from top-tier investors, including Index Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz. Since launching publicly in 2023, the company has grown its user base to over one million registered users, earning recognition from both independent creators and major enterprises. Hedra’s generative video technology now powers cutting-edge use cases ranging from marketing and social media content to more complex interactive experiences. ABOUT THE HOST Sabine is a corporate strategist turned entrepreneur. She is the CEO and Managing Partner of Alchemy Crew a venture lab that accelerates the curation, validation, & commercialization of new tech business models. Sabine is renowned within the insurance sector for building some of the most renowned tech startup accelerators around the world working with over 30 corporate insurers, accelerated over 100 startup ventures. Sabine is the co-editor of the bestseller The INSURTECH Book, a top 50 Women in Tech, a FinTech and InsurTech Influencer, an investor & multi-award winner. Twitter LinkedIn Instagram Facebook TikTok Email Website

In this episode, Andrew is joined by Jesse Buckingham, CEO and cofounder of Vooma. Jesse studied law and economics at the University of Sydney and got his MBA from Stanford. Before Vooma, he was CEO at ASG LogisTech, whose businesses included Trucker Tools, Record360, e-Courier, and PackageRoute. He was also a consultant at Bain & Company.Now, Jesse's leading the Vooma team in building AI tools that will automate the shipment lifecycle and help brokerage teams enhance productivity and reduce opex. Vooma recently raised $13M in Series A funding led by Craft Ventures, on top of a $3.6M seed round led by Index Ventures, with support from founders and execs at companies like Motive, Project44, Ryder, and Uber Freight. Andrew and Jesse cover:How to motivate teams, lead with passion, and build trust when you're not the founder.The greatest challenges around addressing and automating manual processes in logistics. How AI tools like Vooma will reinvent the way brokerages run their internal operations. The future of hiring for the skills required to thrive in an AI-driven environment.The artful balance of building an innovative, new business with having a newborn at home.Follow The Freight Pod and host Andrew Silver on LinkedIn.***Episode brought to you by Rapido Solutions Group. I had the pleasure of working with Danny Frisco and Roberto Icaza at Coyote, as well as being a client of theirs more recently at MoLo. Their team does a great job supplying nearshore talent to brokers, carriers, and technology providers to handle any role necessary, be it customer or carrier support, back office, or tech services.***

Farhan Thawar is the head of engineering at Shopify, where he oversees more than 1,000 engineers and a platform that powers over 10% of all U.S. e-commerce. Before Shopify, he was VP of engineering at Pivotal Labs and Xtreme Labs, and co-founder of Helpful.com. In our conversation, Farhan shares:• Why choosing the harder path leads to better outcomes• How to create intensity within your org (without burnout)• Why every company should be embracing pair programming• How he hires without interviewing• How he built the world's largest internship program• His mission to create a “crafter's paradise” for engineers• Much more—Brought to you by:• DX—A platform for measuring and improving developer productivity• Persona—A global leader in digital identity verification• Vanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security—Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-shopify-builds-a-high-intensity-culture-farhan-thawer—Where to find Farhan Thawar:• X: https://x.com/fnthawar• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fnthawar—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Farhan's background(05:38) Choosing the hard path(09:37) Getting comfortable with looking dumb(13:20) Lessons from working with visionaries(19:19) Creating intensity in organizations(22:06) The power of pair programming(29:18) Shopify's culture of intensity(37:18) Meeting Armageddon: revolutionizing company meetings(39:46) Reducing distractions(41:10) Deleting 1M+ lines of code(49:05) Three buckets of building(57:45) Remote work and trust battery(01:00:29) Finding stability in uncomfortable times(01:03:14) Hiring philosophy(01:11:41) Internship programs and co-op systems(01:15:32) Lessons from managing 120 direct reports(01:20:40) Failure corner(01:27:46) Lightning round and closing thoughts—Referenced:• The Steve Jobs quote about connecting dots: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/463176-you-can-t-connect-the-dots-looking-forward-you-can-only• Shopify: https://www.shopify.com/• GitHub: https://github.com/• Farhan's “questions to ask” framework: https://x.com/fnthawar/status/1514193402828574721• Palantir: https://www.palantir.com/• Joe Liemandt: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liemandt• Chamath Palihapitya: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chamath_Palihapitiya• Xtreme Labs: https://www.xtremelabs.io• Parkinson's law: https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-parkinsons-law-6674423• Pair programming: https://dev.to/documatic/pair-programming-best-practices-and-tools-154j• Cody Fauser on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/codyfauser• How Shopify builds product: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-shopify-builds-product• Chaos Monkey: We look at Shopify's new ‘culture of focus': https://www.siliconrepublic.com/careers/shopify-chaos-monkey-meetings-culture-deann-evans• Empowering devs with AI: How Shopify made GitHub Copilot core to its culture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVKBwcm5dbw&t=2318s• Tobi Lütke of Shopify: Powering a Team with a ‘Trust Battery': https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/24/business/tobi-lutke-of-shopify-powering-a-team-with-a-trust-battery.html• Brian Chesky's new playbook: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/brian-cheskys-contrarian-approach• Stop Being Deceived by Interviews When You're Hiring: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesleadershipforum/2012/02/07/stop-being-deceived-by-interviews-when-youre-hiring/• Shopify's made the Life Story a major part of their interview: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39294140• Internships at Shopify: https://internships.shopify.com• Nick Adams on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-adams-32b28139• React Native: https://reactnative.dev• Swift: https://www.swift.org• Acquired podcast: The Mark Zuckerberg interview: https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/the-mark-zuckerberg-interview• The Power of Performance Reviews: Use This System to Become a Better Manager: https://review.firstround.com/the-power-of-performance-reviews-use-this-system-to-become-a-better-manager• Airbnb's Vlad Loktev on embracing chaos, inquiry over advocacy, poking the bear, and “impact, impact, impact” (Partner at Index Ventures, Airbnb GM/VP Product): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/impact-impact-impact-vlad-loktev• The Secret to a Great Planning Process—Lessons from Airbnb and Eventbrite: https://review.firstround.com/the-secret-to-a-great-planning-process-lessons-from-airbnb-and-eventbrite• How to do great work: https://www.paulgraham.com/greatwork.html• Challengers on Prime: https://www.amazon.com/Challengers-Luca-Guadagnino/dp/B0CX5MZ9M4• Halt and Catch Fire on Prime: https://www.amazon.com/Halt-Catch-Fire-Season-1/dp/B0CKXZNT96• Meta Ray-Bans: https://www.meta.com/smart-glasses/shop-all• Making Meta | Andrew ‘Boz' Bosworth (CTO): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/making-meta-andrew-boz-bosworth-cto—Recommended books:• The Undoing Project: A Friendship That Changed Our Minds: https://www.amazon.com/Undoing-Project-Friendship-Changed-Minds/dp/0393254593• Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World: https://www.amazon.com/Range-Generalists-Triumph-Specialized-World/dp/0735214484• Manna: Two Visions of Humanity's Future: https://www.amazon.com/Manna-Two-Visions-Humanitys-Future-ebook/dp/B007HQH67U• Business Adventures: Twelve Classic Tales from the World of Wall Street: https://www.amazon.com/Business-Adventures-Twelve-Classic-Street/dp/1504000021—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

Jacob sits down with Stef van Grieken, Co-Founder & CEO of Cradle. Cradle has raised over $100M from investors like IVP and Index Ventures to build and expand their AI-enabled protein engineering platform. They discuss how Cradle plans to use their new Series B funding, what's been happening in AI bio, the technical underpinnings of Cradle's platform, and more. [0:00] Intro[0:22] Cradle Bio's Rapid Growth and AI Innovations[0:53] The State of AI in Drug Development[1:15] Challenges and Opportunities in AI Biospace[2:21] Cradle Bio's Approach to Biologics Development[3:11] AI's Role in Hit Identification and Lead Optimization[7:42] Cradle Bio's Software and Customer Base[10:33] Inside Cradle Bio's Lab and Data Strategy[24:10] Future Directions and Protein Modalities[26:21] Navigating the Pharma SaaS Market[28:48] Challenges in Adopting New Protocols[30:15] Software vs. Service Companies[31:47] Gaps in Drug Development[33:46] Advances in AI and Bio[41:28] Future of Drug Discovery[44:18] Advice for Aspiring Bio Entrepreneurs[48:03] Quickfire Out-Of-Pocket: https://www.outofpocket.health/

Follow me @samirkaji for my thoughts on the venture market, with a focus on the continued evolution of the VC landscape.Today I'm excited to speak with the founding team of Chemistry, a new venture firm led by Kristina Shen, Ethan Kurzweil, and Mark Goldberg, who recently spun-out of blue chip firms Andreessen Horowitz, Bessemer, and Index Ventures, respectively. The firm just announced a significantly oversubscribed $350MM debut fund. As a new entrant to the market (in the toughest time to start a new firm in over a decade), I wanted to ask them about their blueprint for building a firm, including how they chose to partner up and the work they did beforehand, LP strategies and selection, and what they felt was their unique reason to exist in a highly competitive market. About Kristina ShenKristina Shen is Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Chemistry Ventures, overseeing a $350M fund focused on early-stage software investments. Formerly a General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz (2019-2024), she led significant investments in Mux, Pave, Wrapbook, and Rutter. Kristina specialized in high-growth startups.She began her venture career as a Partner at Bessemer Venture Partners (2013-2019), working with companies such as Gainsight, Instructure, and ServiceTitan. Previously, she worked in investment banking at Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse, focusing on technology sectors.About Mark GoldbergMark Goldberg is Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Chemistry Ventures since, investing in seed and Series A software startups. Previously, a Partner at Index Ventures (2015-2023), he worked with companies such as Plaid, Pilot, Intercom, and Motive, establishing a strong fintech and software portfolio.Prior to Index, Mark worked at Dropbox in Business Strategy & Operations and Strategic Finance (2013-2015), where he contributed to growth strategies during Dropbox's scaling phase.He started his career as an Analyst at Morgan Stanley (2007-2010) before joining Hudson Clean Energy as a Senior Associate. Mark holds an AB in International Relations from Brown University.About Ethan KurzweilEthan Kurzweil is Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Chemistry Ventures, leading investments at the seed stage for tech-driven startups. He also serves as a board member for companies like Intercom and LaunchDarkly.Previously, Ethan was a Partner at Bessemer Venture Partners (2008-2024), where he worked with companies such as HashiCorp, Twilio, and Twitch. His focus on software and digital platforms spanned roles as board member and investor, contributing to significant IPOs and acquisitions.Early in his career, Ethan worked in business development at Linden Lab (creators of Second Life) and served as a Senior Manager in the CEO's Office at Dow Jones. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and an AB in Economics from Stanford University.In this episode, we discuss:* (01:43): Importance of Team Chemistry and Partnership Formation* (03:27): Challenges of Building a Firm in the Current Environment* (08:00): Unique Value Proposition for Early-Stage Founders* (10:18): Early-Stage Focus and Differentiation from Large VC Firms* (16:12): Fundraising Insights and LP Relationship Building* (19:00): Choosing Aligned LPs and Targeting Long-Term Partnerships* (27:23): Single-Trigger Investment Decision-Making Model* (30:12): Balancing Conviction with Collaborative Feedback* (35:23): Independent Decision-Making for Follow-On Investments* (39:19): Personal Contrarian Beliefs about the Venture Industry* (42:18): Closing Remarks on Building a New Venture FranchiseI'd love to know what you took away from this conversation with Kristina, Mark, and Ethan. Follow me @SamirKaji and give me your insights and questions with the hashtag #ventureunlocked. If you'd like to be considered as a guest or have someone you'd like to hear from (GP or LP), drop me a direct message on Twitter.Podcast Production support provided by Agent Bee This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ventureunlocked.substack.com

Mark Goldberg is a Managing Partner and Co-Founder at Chemistry, a $350M fund announced just yesterday with the mission to lead the best seed and Series A rounds. Before Chemistry, Mark was a Partner at Index Ventures, where he led early stage investments in Plaid, Bridge, Pilot, Anrok and Persona. Prior to Index Ventures, Mark was one of the first business hires at Dropbox. In Today's Episode with Mark Goldberg We Discuss: 1. The Truth About Multi-Stage Firms: Why are portfolio services there to help the investing partners and not the founders? What are the most broken elements within a multi-stage firm? How does decision-making break down in large partnerships? When is the right time to work with multi-stage firms? When is not? 2. From Boutique High Margins to Commoditised Low Margins:  With the immense amount of cash that has entered VC, will returns simply get worse? Who will be the winners in the next 10 years of venture? Who will be the losers? What can they do today to change this? What element of the future of venture are not enough people spending time on? 3. Lessons from Leading Unicorn Company Rounds: What happens to all the unicorns with insanely high prices they cannot grow into? What has been Mark's biggest hit? What did he learn? What has been his biggest miss? How did that change his go-forward approach? Does Mark agree that 90% of VC do not add value?    

Sandra Schwarzer, Board & Talent Insights leader at Index Ventures, joined us on The Modern People Leader.  We talked about Index Ventures' experience helping founders “scale through chaos”, how much time founders spend on HR-related tasks, their 14-point framework for running executive searches, and how investors evaluate founders' view on talent. ----  Timestamps: (3:54) Sandra's career story: From East Germany to Index Ventures (10:42) Defining 'Scaling through Chaos' and key takeaways (13:56) Founders spending 50% of their time on HR-related tasks (17:44) Challenges in hiring engineering talent and how Index Ventures supports founders (20:07) Structuring time for hiring and talent-related tasks (27:05) AI adoption in the people function: Early challenges and insights (38:48) The 14-point executive search framework for successful hires (44:06) How to balance speed and cultural fit when hiring (50:26) Common mistakes in executive hiring and learning from them (54:11) The importance of organizational design and a CEO's view of the people function (56:53) Index Ventures' tool for optimizing team planning and scaling ---- 

Shardul Shah is a Partner at Index Ventures and one of the greatest cyber security investors of the last two decades. Among his many wins, Shardul has led rounds in Datadog, Wiz, Duo Security, Coalition and more. Shardul is also the only Partner investing at Index to have worked in every single Index office from London, to SF, to NYC to Geneva. Prior to Index, Shardul worked with Summit Partners, focusing on healthcare and internet technologies. In Today's Episode with Shardul Shah We Discuss: 1. Investing Lessons from Wiz and Datadog: Why does Shardul believe that TAM (total addressable market) is BS? Why does Shardul believe that every great deal will be expensive? How does Shardul evaluate when to double down and concentrate capital vs when to let someone else come in and lead a round in an existing company? How does Shardul think about when is the right time to sell a position in a company? 2. How the Best VCs Make Decisions: How does Shardul and Index create an environment of truth-seeking together, that is optimised for the best decision-making to take place? What are the biggest mistakes in how VCs make decisions today? Why does Shardul believe that all first meetings should be 30 mins not 60 mins? Why does Shardul believe it is so much harder to make investment decisions when partnerships are remote? What is better remote? 3. The Core Pillars of Venture: Sourcing, Selecting, Securing and Servicing: Which one does Shardul believe he is best at? What is he worst at? Does Shardul believe with the downturn we have moved into a world of selection and not just winning every new deal? Does Shardul believe that VCs provide any value? What are the biggest misnomers when it comes to "VC value add"? 4. Lessons from the Best Investors in the World: Who is the best board member that Shardul sits on a board with? What has Shardul learned from Gili Raanan and Doug Leone on being a good board member? What have been some of Shardul's biggest investing lessons from Danny Rimer? Why does Shardul hate benchmarks when it comes to investing?  

Vlad Loktev spent 10 years at Airbnb, where he started as an IC PM and quickly advanced to lead the core Airbnb marketplace business and then GM the entire homes business, managing over 1,000 people and reporting directly to CEO Brian Chesky. He recently left Airbnb and joined Index Ventures as their newest partner. Vlad was my manager at Airbnb for many years, and is the person I credit most for teaching me how to be a great product manager. Prior to Airbnb, Vlad spent a year at Zynga, where he helped grow Words with Friends to over 14 million daily active users. In our conversation, Vlad shares:• Insight into Brian Chesky's leadership style• Why success as a PM is all about impact, impact, impact• Why chaos can be good• Why as a leader it's OK to let some fires burn• Why you should learn to “poke the bear”• Balancing product release speed with quality• Lessons on prioritization, decision-making, and organizational design• Advice for founders on building company culture• Much more—Brought to you by:• Pendo—The only all-in-one product experience platform for any type of application• Vanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security• Eppo—Run reliable, impactful experiments—Find the transcript and show notes at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/impact-impact-impact-vlad-loktev—Where to find Vlad Loktev:• X: https://x.com/vladimirloktev• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vladimirloktev/—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Vlad's background(02:54) Reflecting on transformative years at Airbnb(04:28) Skills and mindsets for success(11:03) Impact-driven mindset(13:16) Saying no and inquiry before advocacy (17:54) “Poking the bear”(22:46) Psychological tools for leadership(30:08) Building and scaling teams(36:12) Letting fires burn(47:34) Embracing chaos(54:40) The unsell email strategy(01:02:01) Finding your place in an organization(01:05:38) The importance of company culture(01:13:16) Airbnb's unique approach to product management(01:26:41) Failure corner(01:31:32) Lightning round and final thoughts—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe