40: Investing in Micromobility :: Martin Mignot of Index Ventures

In this episode, Oliver interviews Martin Mignot, a general partner at Index Ventures and panelist on our ‘Capital in Micromobility’ panel at the upcoming Micromobility Europe conference in Berlin. Index Ventures were early investors in Bird, and have a long history of investing in the micro and macro mobility space over the last 15 years.Specifically, we dig into:- His thesis around investing in mobility companies, and why the smartphone/internet has proved so transformational- Index’s investment in Bird, and why their focus on design and brand differentiates them starkly from the competition- His investment in Cowboy, his bullishness on high end owned micromobility, and how software/hardware integration can create outsized value.- The evolving funding landscape for shared scooters, and how he sees that progressing over the two years.- Why Paris has been a model laboratory for how the market for shared operations will develop over time.- How the pointy end of micromobility tech has started to hit the hard concrete of infrastructure, and how it’s increasingly dragging him into debates about infrastructure.It’s a really fun interview - one of our best so far! Well worth a listen. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit micromobility.substack.com/subscribe