Octopus Ventures

It was wonderful to gather so many entrepreneurs, alongside the people and companies who support them, together at the House of Commons recently. We hosted a drinks reception, alongside our friends at Startup Coalition and The Entrepreneurs Network, which was kindly sponsored by Daniel Aldridge MP. It was a fantastic opportunity for like-minded individuals to come together and celebrate UK entrepreneurs. Thanks to all those attended, including Octopus Ventures portfolio companies DRIFT Energy Ltd, Intrinsic, CellVoyant, ExpressionEdits and Puraffinity.

Thrilled to see not one, not two, but three of our portfolio companies listed in Bloomberg's 25 UK Startups to Watch! Congratulations to the teams at HURR , ORCA Computing and LabGenius! Read more (subscription required) here: https://bit.ly/3UotUAd

Delighted to welcome Vyntelligence to the Octopus Ventures portfolio!   Vyntelligence is transforming how leading ulilities, renewable energy and telecom industries leverage mobile video and AI-first solutions to improve their field workflows, and customer experiences.   We’ve been impressed with what Kapil Singhal and the team have achieved to date, and we can’t wait to see what they do next.   We’re always on the search for the people and ideas that will change the world, so if you’re looking to take your business to the next level, then get in touch! 

I recently had the pleasure of sitting down to chat with Stuart Jackson, co-founder and CFO at Octopus Energy. As one might expect from the dynamic and inspirational leader of one of the UK's greatest success stories of our time, the conversation was rich with learnings and some helpful reminders of what's important when building an industry-defining business.    For a peek at some of the highlights of our conversation, check out our two-part blog (link to part 1 below).    As a snapshot, here are some of my key takeaways:   - Hiring people from outside of your sector can generate fresh ideas and perspectives, without the rigidity and mental constraints (conscious or otherwise) of the status quo.   - Expecting managers to own responsibility for their teams - including well-being, development, progression, etc - instead of automatically deferring to an HR team can be hugely empowering and effective for all parties. However, training and expert support to enable managers to successfully do this is essential.   - Having worked together previously, knowing each other's quirks and ways of thinking, and already having high trust can be a game-changer when deciding who to found a business with.    - Quick feedback is key - whether it's taking and offering feedback from teammates, or maintaining fast feedback loops into new comms, product, operational processes and the like, doing so in an open and considered manner can be the difference between success and failure.   - As a B2C business in the UK, 1 million customers might just be your magic number. At this stage, you start to come up organically in conversation - people start talking about you at the pub, for example! Once you hit a million, you can expect there to be a general awareness of your brand. I hope you enjoy the blog posts - please do reach out to me if any of the topics raised are of interest to you as I'm always up for delving into them further!

Congratulations to the Stema Team on its funding round ─ we're delighted to be part of your journey! 🎉 Stema acts as a career copilot for STEM professionals, automating the process of discovering, researching and evaluating potential employers. This results in highly personalised matches between professionals and opportunities. We’re on a mission to invest in the people, ideas and companies that will change the world. Whether your business is looking for its first ever investment, or taking the next step on its growth journey, if you think what you do is making a difference then our team would love to hear from you! Read more about Stema here https://bit.ly/3YugFAp

🗞️ ⭐ New Blog ⭐ 🗞️ ‘In the early days, we almost actively didn’t want people from the sector. They come with a set of preconceptions... we wanted people who could think outside that, challenge and innovate.’ This month, Jeevs Mahil sat down with Stuart Jackson, co-founder and CFO at Octopus Energy, to hear what he’s learned through the business’s extraordinary growth journey. In part two, they covered all things people and talent. Stuart shared his insights into leadership recruitment, the power of storytelling and why Octopus Energy has no plans to build an HR team. Catch up with part two of the interview here > https://lnkd.in/ehUqUucZ

In the final part of his series on losing product-market fit, Edward Keelan shares the danger signs founders should watch out for. Having lost product-market fit, it can be harder to get it back than it was to find it in the first place – but not impossible. Catch up with Edward’s latest blog here 👉 https://bit.ly/4goXUoN

‘Quite often, trying stuff leads to outcomes you don’t expect.’ Octopus Energy is one of the UK’s biggest business success stories of this century. Since it started in 2015, it’s grown to become the country’s biggest electricity supplier. Earlier this month, Octopus Ventures’ own Jeevs Mahil sat down with Stuart Jackson, co-founder and CFO at Octopus Energy, to hear some of the lessons he’s learned over the last nine years. From balancing an entrepreneurial culture against the demands of growth to the importance of experimentation, read his insights in part one of Jeevs’ interview with Stuart Jackson, here. https://lnkd.in/e6akMbAV #ingoodcompany #storiesfromstartupleaders #octopusenergy

Really pleased to see The Guardian include Octopus Ventures Partner Kirsten Connell's comments around some of the funding challenges faced by female Femtech founders. It's something we care deeply about: both across our dedicated Health team, and within the dedicated pre-seed Fund that Kirsten manages, which includes some fantastic businesses focused on women's health such as luna and Aster! Read more here https://bit.ly/3zPeBta