Danny Rimer

Danny Rimer is a prominent Canadian–Swiss venture capitalist and partner at Index Ventures, a leading global investment firm with offices in London, San Francisco, and Geneva. Born in Canada in 1970, he was raised in Geneva, Switzerland, and later attended Harvard University, earning a B.A. in history and literature . Rimer launched Index Ventures’ London office in 2002 and later co‑founded its San Francisco branch in 2012, helping cement the firm’s presence on both sides of the Atlantic BrainyQuote+15+15Forbes+15.

Throughout his career, Rimer has been instrumental in backing transformative tech and consumer startups. Among his most notable early wins were Skype, MySQL, Dropbox, Etsy, King (the maker of Candy Crush), Farfetch, Glossier, Patreon, Discord, and most recently Figma, for which Index wrote a seed‑stage check in 2013 that ultimately led to a valuation of $20 billion in a proposed Adobe acquisition Index Ventures+4+4Equilar People+4. He has repeatedly appeared on the Forbes Midas List as one of the top global venture capitalists and was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2017 for his services to business and charity Tate+4+4World Economic Forum+4.

A few of Rimer’s insightful quotes reflect his investment philosophy and worldview. He once said, “The best companies are the ones that offer their products for free.” He’s also observed, “To be an entrepreneur in Europe, there is a stigma attached to it … it’s better to have a shop and keep it up and running than close the doors and try to do something much more significant” Index Ventures+6BrainyQuote+6+6. Another telling statement declares: “I’m always thinking as an outsider … I’m paranoid about anyone anywhere who could be a competitive threat.” These reflections underscore his emphasis on global ambition, talent over markets or trends, and a contrarian edge that’s powered his success in venture capital Financial Times+4+4AllGreatQuotes+4.