🇺🇸 Winning in the US: A Conversation with Index Ventures' Martin Mignon
How European Startups Can Break Into the World’s Largest Software Market
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Building a Global Company from Day 1
The US software market is not just a bigger pond—it’s an ocean. Roughly twice the size of Europe’s, it offers not just more dollars, but a higher velocity of adoption and a mindset of experimentation.
Every founder eyeing up the US from the outside faces the same question: do we have what it takes? Breaking into such a large and competitive market will probably be one of the most daunting feats you’ll ever face as a founder—but, if you succeed, it will also be one of the most rewarding.
For European founders, the fundamental question is shifting from "How do we expand to the US?" to "How do we build a global company from day one?" Rather than treating US expansion as a bridge to cross at some point, founders are increasingly looking to the horizon and building with transatlantic ambitions from the start.
For today’s episode, I sat down with Martin Mignot, General Partner at Index Ventures, to discuss their latest publication, “Winning in the US”—a data-driven, founder-backed playbook for navigating the Atlantic leap.
The interesting part: A French native, Martin took the leap from Europe to the US himself when opening Index’ NYC office in 2022. In our interview, he not only shares his personal experience and learnings as an investor helping startups cross the pond, but backs it up with stories from 40+ European founders such as Adyen, Celonis, Collibra, Hugging Face, UiPath, and many more who successfully scaled in the US too.
Let’s dive in!
What’s “Winning in the US” About?
In Martin’s words, the book was built to combine quantitative and qualitative insights—evidence-based recommendations, founder stories, and tactical tips that are tangible, personal, and actionable.
The key message? European founders need to think globally from day one.
That’s not just a mantra—it’s a strategic imperative. Because as Martin states “If you scale country by country and wait until €10M ARR before making a move, someone else will already be winning in the US by then.”
✅ The 3 Key Takeaways
🧭 1. Think Global from Day One
The first and most resounding piece of advice? Don’t wait.
“Too many startups fall into what I call the midsize country trap,” says Mignot. “They start in one country—France, Germany, wherever—and plan to expand sequentially after reaching €10M ARR. But by then, it’s almost like starting a new company from scratch. Meanwhile, someone else will have seen the same opportunity and launched in the US already.”
That delay can be fatal. Martin notes that while some horizontal products—like HR tech (e.g., Personio) or tax platforms (e.g., Pennylane)—can afford to expand later via local acquisitions, such cases are rare.
Instead, he argues for global architecture from day one:
Structure your company with English as the working language.
Assemble multi-national / cultural teams.
Build with international scalability in mind, regardless of where you start.
🧬 2. Know Your Archetype
Assuming you’re committed to going global, the next question is how. Martin outlines five go-to-market archetypes, based on two key dimensions:
How large is the US as a percentage of your total addressable market (TAM), and to what extent are you focused on winning this market?
Do you need boots on the ground to either acquire (sales) or serve (operations) customers?
These two questions help founders avoid cookie-cutter strategies. A mobile app startup, for instance, can rely on centralized operations and a global marketing funnel.
“If you’re building a mobile or gaming app, you can often sell to the world via the app store with some additional performance marketing,” says Mignot. “You don’t need a huge US presence—just a couple of dealmakers or corp dev folks that build the relationships with the marketing and distribution partners.”
But if your GTM motion is centred around more traditional top-down sales, the situation changes dramatically.
“For sales-led GTM, you need boots on the ground. This can be done in two ways: either you transplant and start in the US from day one, or you go magnet mode and pull a trusted team over when you’re ready.”
Both require serious commitment, and both require that the US team be tightly connected to the European HQ.
🤝 3. Don’t Outsource Your US Entry
Hiring a senior “Head of US” might seem like the logical next step when expanding across the Atlantic, but it’s often a mistake—both in fit and outcome.
“Senior folks from large companies are usually not suited for the 0-to-1 journey that entering a new market requires. Their experience often doesn’t translate well to the scrappy, ambiguous environment of an early-stage international expansion. But even more critically, European startups lack brand recognition in the US, which means they won’t attract the best executive talent right away.” Martin warns.
Instead, he recommends sending over a small landing team that includes one of the founders and a few long-tenured employees from the home base. This group carries the company’s culture and can help bridge the gap with the new market.
From there, the focus should shift to hiring young, hungry up and comers with steep growth potential locally. These agile individuals are more adaptable, easier to integrate, and represent smart bets for long-term success.
On the “Brain Drain” Debate
One criticism often raised in Europe, specifically by governments and researchers, is the fear of a brain drain—that sending top talent to the US weakens the local ecosystem. Martin disagrees.
Let’s create giant tech companies first—then we can talk about where the value is created and how we can make sure the European base benefits. It’s about the right incentives to bring talent back”
He argues that product and engineering can (and often should) remain in Europe, while GTM functions migrate toward the commercial center of gravity. He also believes Europe has the tools to retain value:
Smart tax mechanisms that ensure returns flow back.
Incentives for returnees—especially second-time founders and operators.
Global-mindset companies that offer magnetic re-entry points for talent.
“We shouldn’t try to separate the world—we just can’t afford to be cut off from such an important market.”
Final Thought: Build for the World
Winning in the US is more than a tactical guide—it’s a mindset.
Martin and the Index team make a compelling case that Europe’s path to greatness runs through global ambition.
For founders, that means designing globally from day one, making intentional choices about GTM models, and embedding themselves where their customers are.
Make sure to checkout the full “Winning in the US” publication here. Thank you team Index for this great piece, and Martin for again another great chat!
Go global early—or watch someone else do it faster.
Stay driven,
Andre
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