The European Franchise — Funds II–IV (2002–2009)
The era Index became Europe's venture firm. In 2002 Danny Rimer opened the London office, and the funds of this period backed the companies that put European technology on the global map: Skype, Betfair, MySQL, and Last.fm. These were not incremental wins — they were existence proofs that world-class outcomes could originate outside Silicon Valley.
Two exits defined the credibility Index earned here. Skype (sold to eBay, later Microsoft) became the most famous European consumer-tech company of its generation. MySQL (sold to Sun for roughly $1B) proved European open-source infrastructure could reach American scale. Together they turned Index from a Geneva boutique into the leading venture firm on the Continent.
The strategic move was to build a genuinely pan-European franchise — London, Geneva, and the Continent operating as one — and to back ambitious founders the US firms were structurally unable to see. London became the hub that would later anchor the global build.
Why it matters to the thesis: the London office was a talent decision before it was a geography decision. It put Index where the best European founders and the best future investors were, which is what a firm that treats talent as the only moat does first.