20VC: Figma, Scale, Wiz: Inside Index's Decacorn Factory | Decision-Making, Investment Process, Biggest Lessons, Biggest Misses | Why Gross Margin is a Fallacy at Seed | Never Turn Down a Deal on Price with Martin Mignot, Partner @ Index Ventures

**Martin Mignot** (0:00)
Beware of gross margin in the early days. And I think that's a mistake we've made a couple of times. You have a lot of businesses that in the early days have really bad gross margin. All the LLM providers were very clear examples of that. I think if that's the only thing that's holding you up, in most cases, I would totally ignore it. We never pass and we never lose a deal or pass on the deal because of price in the early stage. So we've been around for 30 years. We invested I think 11 and a half billion dollars. We've returned I think about close to 30 and we still have 20 plus in holdings. Most of that is concentrated in eight, nine companies. We've invested in close to 400 companies over the years.

**Harry Stebbings** (0:42)
You are listening to 20VC with me, Harry Stebbings. Now, I first met this guest nine years ago. Their fund has been flying for the last six to 12 months. I mean, oh my God, they sold Wiz for 32 billion. They sold Scale for 14.9 billion. They IPO'd Figma as the largest investor. Can you guess the fund? You got it. It's Index Ventures, one of the best performing funds on the planet. I'm so thrilled to welcome Martin Mignot, partner at Index Ventures. And in addition to the crazy success names that I mentioned, they're also the largest or second-largest shareholders in, check this out, Revolut, Roblox, Adyen, Datadog. List goes on. Such an incredible conversation here. And so much fun to have Martin back on the show after nine years. But before we dive into the show's day, I love seeing the team come together to make this show happen. What I don't love is trying to keep track of all the information, the data and the projects that we're working on across dozens of platforms, products and tools. That's why we use Coda, the all-in-one collaborative workspace that's helped 50,000 teams all over the world get on the same page. Offering the flexibility of docs with the structure of spreadsheets, Coda facilitates deeper teamwork and quicker creativity. And their turnkey AI solution, the intelligence of Coda Brain, is a game changer. Powered by Grammarly, Coda is entering a new phase of innovation and expansion, aiming to redefine productivity for the AI era. Whether you're a startup looking to organize the chaos, while staying nimble, or an enterprise organization looking for better alignment, Coda matches your working style. Its seamless workspace connects to hundreds of your favorite tools, including Salesforce, Jira, Asana and Figma, helping your teams transform their rituals and do more faster. Head over to coda.io/20vc right now and get six months off the team plan for startups for free. That's Coda, C-O-D-A dot I-O slash 20VC and get six months off the team plan for free. Coda dot I-O slash 20VC. And while Coda keeps our team aligned, Acuity Scheduling ensures our time stays on track. This show is brought to you by Acuity Scheduling, the flexible scheduling software that helps you focus on what matters most. Growing your business with Acuity, you can manage your calendar, you can accept secure payments, offer clients a seamless booking experience that reflects your brand. I've been using my complementary subscription, and it's been a game changer for staying organized and saving time. I especially love online booking. Clients can book, reschedule or cancel anytime. And the booking page looks fully branded with my logo and colors. The calendar management tools let me set buffer times and sync with other calendars. So I never feel overbooked. And with secure payments, I can collect deposits or full payments upfront through Stripe or PayPal, making the process smooth and professional. Head over to acuitiescheduling.com/20vc for a free trial. And when you're ready to launch, use the offer code 20VC20 to save 20% off your first Acuity Scheduling subscription. And speaking of incredible companies, don't forget what really keeps those customers coming back. Trust is the ultimate currency in business and today customers expect it faster than ever and that's why over 10,000 global companies trust Vanta. Vanta automates up to 90% of the work for in-demand compliance standards like SOP2, ISO 27001 and more using smart AI to centralize workflows, manage risk and get you audit ready in weeks, not months. So you can stop chasing paperwork and start closing deals. And a new IDC report found that Vanta customers achieved $535,000 per year in benefits. That's insane. And the platform pays for itself in three months. I had no idea about these. Whether you're growing fast or just getting started, Vanta connects you with trusted auditors and experts, support to help you build trust with customers. Get $1,000 off your first year at vanta.com/20vc.