How Has Index Ventures Stayed Focused on Taste?

Shardul Shah says enormous attention to taste has been true for Index Ventures from the beginning through today. The venture industry is industrializing, and the last five years look very different from the prior 25. In that phase, many people think about patterns, numbers, measurement, and scale, and the shift creates more distinction around how focused Index is on taste.

When Index started 30 years ago, it was three people. Today the firm is 93. He spends more time thinking, sweating, and dreaming about the people than about assets under management, and people are the most important metric. How the firm has changed, and how it has not changed, is interesting. Respecting where the firm came from should not limit where it needs to go. The same attention shows up in the room: travertine, pumpkins, eclectic music, eclectic literature, and linen he finds fantastic.