How to pitch Index Ventures
Write to a partner, and reach them through a person that partner already trusts. Writing the pitch is the quick part; finding that person is where the effort goes.
By Jerry Feng, Growth at Happenstance. Updated August 31, 2026.
The short version
Pick one partner at Index Ventures and reach them through somebody they already trust. A venture firm backs the companies that arrive through people it knows, and the person it knows best is a founder it's funded before, so the strongest first email is the one such a founder forwards with a sentence of their own above it. Before the pitch, then, you've got a search to run: which founder you know has raised from Index, who else in your world has a tie to the firm, and which friend can walk you over to them. Happenstance runs that search across the accounts you've already connected, from one question.
Write to a partner, not to the firm
Index Ventures backs companies from seed through growth, across software, consumer and fintech, on both sides of the Atlantic, and like nearly every venture firm it decides one partner at a time. Mail addressed to the firm goes into a pile with no owner. Mail addressed to the investor whose companies look like yours reaches somebody with the authority to say yes, and it reaches them best when a founder they've already backed is the one passing it along.
Who does a partner trust most? The founders they've funded. Behind those come people who've worked at the firm, investors who've shared a cap table with them and the friends of anyone in those groups. A handful of them are almost certainly in your network already, one or two steps out, and what you need to learn is which of them you can reach this week.
Finding your path to Index Ventures
Founders Index has backed. Someone you once worked beside who later raised from Index, a founder you sat next to at an event, or a customer whose company took Index money. A forward from any one of them outweighs the cleverest subject line you could write cold.
People at or around the firm. Members of the investment team count, and so do former employees, the operators the firm keeps close and any friend of yours who happens to know one of them.
Happenstance. Happenstance searches every account you connect, Gmail, Outlook, Google Calendar, Google Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram, plus the networks of the friends you've added, and answers in plain English. Ask who you know who's raised from Index, or who you know at the firm, and back comes each person with how well you know them and which account the tie came from, and for anyone a friend knows, the friend who can introduce you. Happenstance is free. The free plan is the whole product, with usage limits on chat and web searches beyond your network. Pro raises the limits: unlimited web searches and results, higher chat limits, and CSV export. The whole fundraising version, first search through to term sheet, is on Happenstance for fundraising.
The ask
Email the founder before you email the investor. Ask for one forward and name the partner you're aiming at, then paste in the paragraph you want passed along, so that a yes costs them about thirty seconds.
Subject: Intro to [partner] at Index Ventures
What Happenstance can see
Email is read as headers only. Message content and attachments never reach our servers. Yes. Your connections are searchable only by you, the friends you accept, and the groups you join, and sharing is always mutual. Your public profile shows a constellation of named people you know by default, which you can turn off anytime. We never share, sell, or use your data to train AI models. Happenstance is SOC 2 certified and DTI Trust Level 2; the full list of what is stored and for how long is on the security page.
Frequently asked questions
Should I email Index Ventures directly or go through a partner?
Through a partner, and through someone who can hand your name to that partner if you can manage it. Mail to a firm's general address sits in a queue that nobody's responsible for; a forward from a founder the partner has funded lands with a reason to open it. Choose the investor whose companies resemble yours, then work out the shortest route to them.
What if I don't know anyone connected to Index Ventures?
Odds are you know somebody who does. A founder in your orbit who's raised from Index is one hop away, as are people who've worked there and the friends of both. Because Happenstance searches your accounts alongside your friends' networks, asking "who do I know who's raised from Index Ventures" brings back those people together with the mutual who can introduce you.
What should the first email to an Index Ventures partner contain?
A single paragraph a founder could forward untouched: the company in one sentence, the number that proves it's working, the round you're raising and who's already in, plus the reason this investor in particular should be reading it. Keep it under a hundred and fifty words with no attachment; send the deck once they've asked for it.
How does Happenstance help me reach Index Ventures?
Connect the accounts you already use, Gmail, Outlook, Google Calendar, Google Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram, and ask who you know who's raised from Index Ventures, or who you know at the firm. Every result shows how well you know the person and which account the tie came from, and when the path runs through a friend, it names the friend who can introduce you. Happenstance is free; Pro raises the limits.
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