Octopus Ventures

Super to be working alongside Hannah Bernard OBE, Debbie Wosskow, OBE, Alex Seddon & many others here. In short the Taskforce's mission is to make the U.K. the best place in the world to be a female founder and we’re committed to driving real change. A meaningful fund of funds is the first of many necessary steps. Thank you to all the investors who are helping us make this a reality! #InvestinWomen #changetheratio

We're really excited with our latest investment into Forefront RF! This innovative semiconductor company has developed patented technology that solves some of the challenges with existing circuit board technology, allowing developers of mobile and wearable devices to simplify their designs, reducing complexity and streamlining supply chains. Great to be investing in this talented team, alongside Cambridge Innovation Capital, BGF and Foresight Group! Read more here: https://bit.ly/4hAK0AB

Many congratulations to luna and Co-Founders Jas Schembri-Stothart and Jo Goodall — the only UK start-up to reach the Top 20 at TechCrunch Disrupt, and a Top 5 finalist! Selected from over 2,000 companies, luna’s team is pioneering a powerful mission: providing young girls with trusted, accessible health resources and community support. We're proud to back this fantastic team as they lead the way in revitalising girls' health and wellness.   You can read more about the luna team and their work here: https://bit.ly/4hySGYf,

Many congratulations to FullCircl on its acquisition by nCino, Inc.! We first backed the team back in 2011, and the business has since become a leading UK SaaS platform ─ helping financial institutions and regulated companies to grow their revenue, automate and accelerate onboarding, and improve client management. This is a fantastic result for FullCircle, and we couldn’t be prouder. We wish the team all the best with the future!

Some great coverage of our investment in Semble! Semble is an integrated clinical system that allows healthcare businesses of all sizes to manage every aspect of their practice, improving on outdated technology with its all-in-one clinical system. It is a great example of a company that is revitalising healthcare, and we're delighted to be supporting them! Read more here https://bit.ly/3Ys6knb

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