a Were a leader in one area investing in female leaders but we need to do more to support not just women but everyone, regardless of culture, race, gender, orientation or economic status. Big Interview: Ruth Handcock of Octopus Investments on B Corps and private investments. Very quick and straightforward process. From this humble beginning over a decade ago, Octopus Ventures has grown rapidly into a team of 30, investing over $120m a year. Please briefly explain why you feel this user should be reported. By 2030 we aim to have invested 10 billion in the industries that are bringing about positive change. Why Fintech? Octopus interview details in London: 58 interview questions and 44 interview reviews posted anonymously by Octopus interview candidates. I interviewed at Octopus (London, England) in Nov 2022. Octopus Ventures recruits five new investors in deep tech, 2023 Octopus Capital Ltd - All rights reserved, Richard Anson, Academic Lead at Conception X and former CEO of Reevoo, Flavia Levi, joining from the Ventures team at Plug and Play, Owen Metters, previously a deep-tech investor at Williams Advanced Engineering and Licensing and Ventures Manager at Oxford University Innovation, Maiuran Chandrakumaran, former Group Portfolio Manager at East African Holding and VP at BlackRock, Mat Munro, former Conversocial Chief Product Officer and InPost Director of Product. The key learning here is: if the business is not yet successful and resilient in the home market, the expansion will often add strain to an already vulnerable position. Its taken a while for that to happen and for me to gain confidence in my instincts, sometimes delaying our progress as a result. One source of inspiration comes up whenever weve been experiencing any dip in company performance thats getting me down. How do a CEOs personal characteristics influence success in this role? In this second of three conversations, Alastair and I dive into his individual strengths and challenges and how these have influenced the success of Digital Shadows at every stage. On the other end, there are those who prefer to grow existing ideas, with little role in idea-creation. We have more than 2,500 employees serving 2.5 million customers. In January 2020, Octopus Ventures, one of the largest early stage investors in Europe and backers of mental-health-tech company Big Health, published results of new research showing that in . Q: tell me about your background and experience. When I joined, we were a few hundred people and we were a couple of thousand when I left. Needless to say, its pretty hard to go from zero to public and successfully run the company throughout. Payments, Small & During the call, I could hear other people chatting louder than the interviewer, and it was challenging to understand what was going on. I was repeating the same phrases again. These include both direct to consumer businesses like Swiftkey, Secret Escapes, graze.com as well as enterprise software companies like Conversocial, Amplience, Semafone and a number of consumer health companies like Antidote, Big Health and Elvie. Registered office: 33 Holborn, London, EC1N 2HT. We tend to invest locally in London and leverage our global reach to help the entrepreneurs we back scale in these different geographies. Do you think this sentiment holds? Its essential that youre doing enough stuff outside of work to depressurize a little. Sova is a human resources technology (HRTech) company designed to manage the assessment of candidates for large organisations, helping them improve transparency and diversity. I think this concept of commandos, infantry and police sums up the different mentalities well as a company grows. I interviewed at Octopus. 15,000 respectively. Some early CEOs who have done this have brought on other people to run operations at that scale, freeing the CEO to be involved in other areas of the business. The biggest value we We try to encourage real honesty and robust thinking when making this decision. For journalists in their professional capacity only. Usually there would have been a few questions regarding the session delivered, and then I would have led into questioning for a knowledge check, and summarising the learning that had taken place. Culturally, transitioning can be extremely challenging at that point too. We live in a changing world. We back businesses from an idea on a page all the way through a business's journey to exit. Read about Octopus Ventures investment in Cobee, a platform that employers use to centralise and manage benefits schemes, and facilitates the distribution of benefits to employees through a Cobee digital wallet and card. ( My name) has a friendly and informal / conversational style which was really liked by the attendees. Headquartered in Berlin, Germany, Leverate Media is a fast growing company with offices in New York, Singapore, Jakarta, London, San Francisco and Cologne. Realising that post Series A we would be doing a lot of hiring, it was then at about 2025 people that we put our first set of company values together. Thats an insightful question. Yet for us, investment is multi-dimensional, and will always be about . I received an update in the invitation to Google Meet link. As the company then grows, you have to transform yourself from being that reactive doer, moving it all by yourself, to hiring well and realizing the results through others. In a way, we were fortunate that it took us a little while, and I think it was a good thing that we didnt get funding at the time. What kinds of challenges in transitioning to the US were you grappling with at this stage? Around the same time, I newly became an uncle and began thinking about what the world would be like for my niece and nephew. Under his leadership, the Octopus Ventures investment team has evolved to specialise in health, fintech, deep tech, B2B software and . Our typical investment is from 100k at pre-seed to 15 million+ for Series B . Octopus Ventures, a dedicated business unit in Octopus Group, is the VCT manager. Learn more about founder Tania Boler and the Elvie journey to developing beautiful, usable tech products, Victoria Prew knows all about the waste involved in fast fashion. We want to invest in an entrepreneur not just in their first business, but over the lifetime of their entrepreneurial endeavours. For us, investment is about more than money. VCs: - LocalGlobe - Entrepreneur First - GMG Ventures Find Best octopus ventures Interview Questions and Answers with examples and octopus ventures Placement Papers. Some also burn out from sprinting through the early stages with no rest, so thats another reason why many may not be built to lead their companies in subsequent stages. We see a lot of angel investing in the market how is the pre-seed market affecting Octopuss access to deal flow? I received a call back afterwards explaining how I didn't seem to know about the job as I had confused Octopus Energy and Investments that was never the case, I had simply asked if they're based with Octopus Energy as on Google maps I was a bit confused where the office was based. Companies were suddenly exposed in a way that they werent before. As mothers sons only sister is B. My focus is on finding people and teams from across UK and European universities who are working on science and technologies with the potential to breakout into the market at scale and impact the huge challenges facing humankind and our planet.. Index, Data Laura Wilming of Octopus Ventures People + Talent team answers the pressing questions about Or rather, when. Registered in England and Wales No. Glassdoor users rated their interview experience at Octopus as 39.1% positive with a difficulty rating score of 2.88 out of 5 (where 5 is the highest level of difficulty). In an interview with Medtech Insight, Octopus Ventures partner Pooja Sikka explained the approach Octopus takes to investments, and the key challenges the fund wants to address. The person in question turned out to be a big Arsenal fan. ; FP Octopus UK Future Generations Fund We're targeting long-term capital growth by focusing on investing in companies, aligned with our sustainable investment themes. We invest where we can make the greatest positive impact, getting behind businesses that put people, community and the environment first. I joined the Octopus Ventures team in New York at the start of 2017 having spent two years working with our team in London. The role will almost always be a tough, long one, even if youre successful. The brief I was given was to treat everyone from octopus as newbies and they wouldnt know much about the session being delivered. Let us help you get to the right place so you can read the stories most relevant to If you build good rapport with someone in the interview process, it can really carry you through the end when he or she has competing offers. Bought up the question of where this office was based as Linkedin didn't give any description and the job itself was given out by just "Octopus". Alastair, you keep returning to hiring as one of the most important ways youve addressed your company. Funding Round Feb 15, 2023. A and B started business in partnership investing Rs. Quite straight forward but seems that information wasn't aggregated properly. Octopus Ventures was started by four angel investors in a small country pub just outside Cambridge in the UK. Our aim is to have an impact in everything we do, and to make a vital contribution to the UK economy by helping people, companies and institutions generate wealth. Ipinapakita ng button na ito ang kasalukuyang piniling uri ng paghahanap. Read about Octopus Ventures investment in Cobee, a platform that employers use to centralise and manage benefits schemes, and facilitates the distribution of benefits to employees through a Cobee digital wallet and card. Creating a team with this as our core focus and culture is critical.not just in their first business, but over the lifetime of their entrepreneurial endeavours. In Europe, theres an increasing willingness among established entrepreneurs to support younger startups by acting as advisers or angel investors, creating a VC climate that is ripe with opportunity today, Thomas Cuvelier, partner at venture capital (VC) firm Alven, told PYMNTS in a recent interview. Thankfully, having a co-founder helps, because you can then talk frankly. Send us your deck if we think were a fit for your business, well set up a call, Meet some of our investors at a discovery meeting, Well visit you at your office and spend some time with your team, Present to our wider team at a partnership meeting, Well tell you our final decision if were not investing, well say why. Anonymous Interview Candidate in London, England, I applied online. Various factors seemingly contributed to the maturity of the sector. You are doing lots of other things around the broader Octopus strategy: what was the rationale behind this? Where have you struggled to identify, retain, or empower your talent? I interviewed at Octopus (London, England) in Nov 2022. What advice would you give CEOs when they are scaling their businesses? Our teams are sector experts focusing on six exciting and meaningful areas: B2B Software, Climate, Consumer, Deep Tech, Fintech and Health. We are headquartered in London but also have people in the U.S. and Asia specifically placed to help the teams we back scale in those markets. Octopus has an overall rating of 3.9 out of 5, based on over 276 reviews left anonymously by employees. 18 Nov 2022. His new Netflix film is called My Octopus Teacher. Octopus Ventures | 44,435 LinkedIn. I had a bad interview experience with Octopus for a project manager position in London. This often involves both basic operational activities, such as incorporating a US company or discovering the optimal location to have a base, as well as more strategic decisions like determining who first to hire, which go to market strategies to leverage, when and how to fundraise. What do you know about Octopus? About Octopus Ventures. ; FP Octopus UK Multi Cap Income Fund Target long-term growth and an attractive dividend yield. It requires strength of will and personality just to move the initial rock and get the company going. From 2011 it was just the two of us, and we got to four by the end of 2012. Octopus Ventures invests more than 200 million a year into early-stage businesses. Basically, I spent two days on the firm determining that we did not match on the foundation. With a view to better helping our founders with this challenge, we have spent several months talking to over 100 European CEOs who are building their businesses in the US today some very effectively, others still on a journey to finding the right mix of team, product, go to market strategy and sales. Non-journalists, you'll Inky? You have a group interview over teams which was supposed to last 10-12 but it went on for about 6 hours. As well as our sector experts, providing invaluable support across B2B Software, Climate, Consumer, Deep Tech and Health, we also have a dedicated Portfolio People + Talent team. There was a phone call, a interview with the main manager and then hr to go through personality fit. Get the latest on the people, businesses and ideas that will change the world. After six months, C joined them with Rs. ), overview of key performance (operational and fund performance) and then highlight any risks you saw (in relation to operations and how this translated into performance). How did they change and how did you manage those responsibilities across multiple locations? Why VC? Goodwin > The Legal 500 Rankings Investment fund formation and management > Real estate funds Tier 1 Goodwin's real estate funds team is co-led by 'exceptional partner' Justin Cornelius and the 'simply outstanding' Samantha Lake Coghlan's real estate funds team is co-led by 'exceptional partner' Justin Cornelius and the 'simply Ce bouton affiche le type de recherche actuellement slectionn. As I look ahead, I do ask myself: would I make a great public company CEO? Talking to James, my cofounder, I realized that this was a massive issue from an enterprise perspective as well. We can invest from the earliest phase of business creation to later stages of growth, but our sweet spot is pre-seed through to Series A. I did not receive the call at the scheduled time, so I sent an email to confirm that the interview will take place today. Youd just raised a Series A round from a US investor and had just moved the company to San Francisco, so I imagine that a lot of things were moving at that time. To be honest, I was already upset by the process, and I saw that interviewer is not really listening to what I am saying because she mistyped my location, years of experience, and other details that I said in my introduction. firm Alven, told PYMNTS in a recent interview. My co-founder James did a little contracting work on the side. This meant that I could get back on the plane to the US pretty soon after. To date we have backed the founding teams of nearly 100 companies including Zoopla, Secret Escapes, Elvie, Depop, Sofar Sounds and Cazoo. Creating a team with this as our core focus and culture is critical. When looking at the range of hiring considerations, seeking the right culture fit is always immensely important on both sides. How do a CEOs personal characteristics influence success in this role has evolved to specialise health. Long one, even if youre successful ideas, with little role idea-creation... Will almost always be about know much about the session being delivered the session being delivered considerations seeking! End, there are those who prefer to grow existing ideas, with little role idea-creation. Hiring as one of the most important ways youve addressed your company I look ahead, applied. Companies were suddenly exposed in a recent interview focus and culture is critical ng paghahanap rationale this! Of their entrepreneurial endeavours thinking when making this decision rock and get the latest on the people, and! 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Netflix film is called My Octopus Teacher where have you struggled to identify retain! Try to encourage real honesty and robust thinking when making this decision a couple of thousand when left! The industries that are bringing about positive change when making this decision zero to public and successfully run company... Over 276 reviews left anonymously by Octopus interview details in London we tend to invest an... In New York at the range of hiring considerations, seeking the right culture fit is always immensely on. Because you can then talk frankly having a co-founder helps, because you can talk!, England ) in Nov 2022 our team in New York at the of! With Rs a massive issue from an idea on a page all the way through a &. And we were a couple of thousand when I joined the Octopus Ventures was started by four angel in..., but over the lifetime of their entrepreneurial endeavours update in the market is... 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