Neil has a unique gift to deliver profound and actionable advice in a subtle and empathetic way. He addresses the elephant in the room and is invaluable in helping us stay focused on the big picture.David Baszucki,
CEO and Co-founder of Roblox
Neil co-founded Index Ventures in 1996 and served as a Partner for more than 25 years. In 2021, Neil stepped down as an active Partner. Since then, he has continued to manage his portion of the portfolio and makes himself available to support his partners and the firm he helped build.
As an investor and a founder, Neil has played a seminal role in nurturing the tech ecosystem in Europe and beyond. He is passionate about mentoring and partnering with founders who possess a strong sense of purpose. Neil led the firm’s investment in a number of enduring companies including Betfair (Flutter), Genmab, Stepstone, Climate Corporation, Supercell, Trello, Typeform, Nexthink, Funding Circle, Stack Overflow, Revolut and Roblox.
Born in Montreal, Neil studied at Stanford and earned his MBA from Harvard Business School. He spent four years with Montgomery Securities in San Francisco, and joined Index Securities in 1990 — the predecessor of Index Ventures. Neil is Co-Chair of the board of Human Rights Watch.
What was the vision behind the founding of Index Ventures in 1996?
Neil — At Stanford, I used to help one of my buddies out with his part-time job summarizing business plans for a VC firm, and I realized that working with founders was what I wanted to do. Our thesis for Index was that great founders would eventually emerge everywhere, that we’d understand the challenges they’d face, and that we’d be uniquely equipped to help them in both Europe and the U.S. Starting in Europe was a contrarian move, but we knew it was crucial to the development of our portfolio to stay connected with Silicon Valley, and we ultimately set up a base in San Francisco.
Why do you find working with founders to be so rewarding?
Neil — People with a strong sense of purpose resonate with me, and if I’m excited about their mission, I’m eager to help them any way I can. I’m particularly interested in the way founders place themselves in the mindset of future customers, and how that informs critical choices in terms of product, business model and organizational structure. You can have conversations about solving problems with anyone, but entrepreneurs actually intend to do something about it. That’s what makes them special.
What legacy would you like to see Index define for itself?
Neil — I’d love to see Index continue to serve an LP base of non-profit foundations and endowments focused on education, healthcare, research, and other mission-based organizations. The returns they’ll derive from investing in our funds will bolster their endowments and fuel their missions even further in the service of humanity. Beyond that, I believe the principles that define Index are built to last, but that the firm will also adapt and remodel itself so that it is best suited to partner with the most capable and audacious entrepreneurs of the future.
