Danny Rimer: The Biggest Lessons from Missing Snap, Airbnb, Spotify and Facebook | E1166

ℹ️ EPISODE INFO

Released

June 17, 2024

Duration

1h 24m

Channel

The Twenty Minute VC

Watch on YouTube

▶ Open ↗

📝 EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Danny Rimer is a Partner @ Index Ventures and one of the most prominent VCs of the last two decades. Danny has led Index to be one of the top global firms on both sides of the Atlantic. Among Danny’s incredible portfolio, he has led or been involved with Figma, Discord, Dream Games, Etsy, Glossier and Patreon. ----------------------------------------------- Timestamps: (00:00) Intro (01:07) Background (03:31) Takeaways & Learnings from James Barksdale (07:17) Decision-Making Approaches in Investing Partnerships (11:42) Thesis-Based Approach in Investing (16:25) Balancing Founder Enthusiasm with Market Concerns (19:12) Preventing Bias from Past Investment Outcomes (24:07) Evaluating Market Timing Risk in Investments (27:36) Key Lessons on Managing Effective Reserves (31:24) Massive Funds vs. Boutique Specialists (36:06) Sourcing, Selecting, Servicing: Strengths & Weaknesses (42:21) Reflecting on Missed Investment Opportunities (44:24) What is a Big Success (49:58) Lessons & Takeaways from Snap (52:48) The Facebook Calls Discussion (56:24) Unlikely Founders Who Became Incredible (01:02:19) Giving an Effective Feedback (01:07:48) Assessing Europe's Startup Landscape (01:14:20) Quick-Fire Round ----------------------------------------------- In Today’s Discussion with Danny Rimer We Cover:

1. The Biggest Lessons from Missing Snap, Airbnb, Spotify and Facebook: How did Danny miss investing in Brian Chesky and Airbnb when Brian says “Index is the best investor that Airbnb never had”? What was Danny’s biggest takeaway from turning down Daniel Ek and Spotify multiple times? Why did Danny turn down the chance to invest in Facebook at $10BN? What did he learn from this? Why did Index not lead Snapchat’s Series B? How did that decision change Danny’s mindset towards the concentration of positions in a fund?

1. The Biggest BS Rules in Venture: Market Sizing, Valuations and Signalling Why does Danny believe that “valuation is a mental trap”? Why does Danny believe that TAM is “noise” and should not be used to assess an investment? Why does Danny believe that stage and geo-specific funds are BS? Why does Danny believe there are no IPO windows? Are IPO markets always open to the best? Why does Danny believe that signalling is BS and does not exist today?

1. Lessons from the Biggest Wins and Losses: What are Danny’s biggest lessons from Index’s $BN win in King (Candy Crush)? How did the Discord deal come to be? What are Danny’s biggest takeaways from it? What are Danny’s biggest reflections from losing 10s of millions on Nasty Gal? What is Danny’s biggest advice to a new investor today?

1. Lessons from Two Decades Building Index into a Premier Firm: What specifically has Index done to enable them to do what no one else has done and win on both sides of the Atlantic? How did the Benchmark partnership shape much of how Danny has constructed Index today? Who does Danny view as Index’s biggest competition? How has it changed with time? Why is Danny more bullish than ever on the UK despite Brexit? ----------------------------------------------- Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3j2KMcZTtgTNBKwtZBMHvl?si=85bc9196860e4466 Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-twenty-minute-vc-20vc-venture-capital-startup/id958230465 Follow Harry Stebbings on Twitter: https://twitter.com/HarryStebbings Follow Danny Rimer on Twitter: https://twitter.com/dannyrimer Follow 20VC on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/20vchq Follow 20VC on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@20vc_tok Visit our Website: https://www.20vc.com Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://www.thetwentyminutevc.com/contact ----------------------------------------------- #20vc #harrystebbings #DannyRimer #index #snapchat #facebook #partner #etsy #discord #spotify #airbnb

🎤 SPEAKERS

• Danny Rimer

  guest

• Harry Stebbings

  host

🧾 EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of The Twenty Minute VC, featuring Danny Rimer and Harry Stebbings, Danny Rimer: The Biggest Lessons from Missing Snap, Airbnb, Spotify and Facebook | E1166 explores danny Rimer on focus, founders, and learning from billion‑dollar misses Danny Rimer, partner at Index Ventures, reflects on two decades of venture investing, emphasizing ruthless focus, founder quality over theses, and disciplined decision-making. He shares painful stories of missing or underweighting Facebook, Snapchat, Spotify, Airbnb and others, and how those scars reshaped Index’s approach to TAM, valuation, and reserves. The conversation dives into Index’s internal mechanics—voting, thesis ‘majors and minors,’ multi-stage reserving, exit discipline, and scaling globally while staying a “scaled artisan” rather than an asset gatherer. Rimer also explores founder psychology, brand and scarcity, cultural differences between US and European entrepreneurs, and the personal tradeoffs of building a global firm while maintaining family priorities.

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