Index Venture’s Saul Klein reveals his investment strategy and the future for London’s tech scene
Saul Klein is one of Europe’s most prominent VCs and former co-founder at Lovefilm which was sold to Amazon for a reported £200m. He was also part of the original executive team at Skype. In 2007 he joined Index Ventures as a partner.
In our exclusive video interview from the Dublin Web Summit, Saul Klein talks to Tech City News about the exciting potential for London’s tech scene and exposes life behind the scenes for an investor.
What investors are really looking for…
Saul says as an investor he’s looking startup founders that are dedicated to the idea behind their startup, no matter what. “You have to be passionate about what you do, the risks are so high, the chances of failure are profound” he explains.
The investments at Index may not be the next Facebook or Google but every investment they make has to have that same potential:
We look for an entrepreneurial team that really are shooting for the moon
Behind the scenes, a Family Man
At Index there are 120 companies in their portfolio from numerous sectors spread over four different offices, meaning that for Saul, there’s no such thing as a normal day.
His day is framed around family duties, starting with the morning routine of getting the children up and ready for the school run. At the end of the day he tries to be home in time to read them a story before bed. As for life outside of Index, Saul’s an Arsenal man who can be found enjoying family life, walks in the park and going to the theatre.
London’s future potential
Saul believes that in London we have a number of companies that are “capable of becoming world leaders” like King, Just Eat, Mind Candy and Moo. Reflecting the recent optimism around venture capital and funding across London and Europe, he thinks we’ve never had it so good.
Britain has the industrial design, manufacturing and marketing skills that are not just advanced but also laying great foundations for the future.
Find out more in the video above