20VC: Index's Mike Volpi on Making The Move From Player To Coach, What It Takes To Build Generation Defining Brands & How Europe Really Stacks Up To The US Venture Market

**Harry Stebbings** (0:00)
This is The Twenty Minute VC with me, Harry Stebbings, at H. Stebbings, with two Bs on Snapchat. It'd be fantastic to see you there. But to the show's day, and I'm very excited to welcome Mike Volpi to the hot seat. Now, Mike is a general partner at Index Ventures, one of the world's leading venture funds with a portfolio including the likes of Facebook, Dropbox, Slack, Supercell and Deliveroo, just to name a few. Mike currently sits on the boards of Pry Guest, Cockroach Labs and Wealthfront, as well as Blue Bottle Coffee, Sonos and Zuora, just to name a few more. Prior to Index, Mike was the director at cloud.com, which was acquired by Citrix and StorSimple, acquired by Microsoft. Before that, Mike held a number of executive positions, including Chief Strategy Officer at Cisco. He also serves on the board of Fiat Chrysler Automotive. I do also want to say a huge thank you today, as my research went slightly into overcharge for this episode and we had help from the likes of Dave Morin, Danny Rimer, Andy Rachleff, Nick Weaver and Tian Zhou, who were all kind enough to suggest fantastic questions. So huge thanks to them for that. But before we dive into the show's day, if you're an early stage startup, the right infrastructure and support systems are critical. And that's where First Republic is so good. First Republic's resources, network and expertise allow entrepreneurs to customize a solid foundation for your business across all stages. So why First Republic? Well, you get to leverage their incredible network of VC firms to prepare you for future fundraising events. You get to count on a single point of contact that will be there for you and your employees when you need them. You get access to exclusive events and networking opportunities. But don't trust me on this. Their clients include the likes of Instacart, e-Shares and Wish, just to name a few. Check it out by heading over to innovation.firstrepublic.com. And speaking of incredible startups there, one that really is a must is Segment. Why? Well, Segment allows you to collect data from every platform, mobile, web, server, cloud apps, and load it into Segment. Segment then sends the customer data to your tools and destinations, where it can be used most effectively. Destinations include email, analytics, warehouses, help desks, and with over 200 sources and destinations on the Segment platform, that can really empower your team. Segment really is the last integration you will ever do. And that's why the world's best companies use Segment to drive growth and revenue, including the likes of Atlassian, New Relic, and Creighton Barrel, just to name a few. Simply head over to segment.com to find out more. But enough from me, so I'm now thrilled to hand over to Mike Volpi, General Partner at Index Ventures.

**Mike Volpi** (2:24)
You have now arrived at your destination.

**Harry Stebbings** (2:27)
Mike, it's such a pleasure to have you on the show today. I've heard so much from so many of your partners now, in Martin, in Ilya, in Shadul.
But thank you so much for joining me today.

**Mike Volpi** (2:36)
Harry, it's a pleasure. I'm so delighted that you're stalking all of us at Index Ventures, and I'll do my best to be a little different than my partners.

**Harry Stebbings** (2:43)
Mike, as we said, research, not stalking, okay? But I'd love to start today by hearing a little bit about you and how you made your way into what I call the wonderful world of venture and what your entrance really looked like.

**Mike Volpi** (2:54)
I made the transition to venture, I guess, one would characterize a little bit later in my career. I spent first 16, 17 years working in regular companies, and then in my mid-40s, I made the transition over to venture. In fairness, it wasn't the first time that I had thought about the opportunity, but it felt like a good moment in my career.
And certainly, the transition isn't an obvious one because it is a very different kind of a job. It's a very different kind of a role that you perform as a venture capitalist versus running a company or operating in a large company. And I think the biggest difference that I'd characterize is that you go from being everything in the first person, you're the actor on stage, if you will, when you're operating a company, to being backstage and essentially being the one that suggests and advises and ultimately is trying to be helpful but also super important to understand that the people that are actually making the decisions that own the success or failure of a company are the ones that are on stage. And I think being able to make that transition and not feeling like you're the one that is front and center is one of the really important components of being a good venture capitalist. And for somebody that's been in an operating role, takes a little getting used to.