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. Thats a thought that I lean on more now than I did when we started since weve been through so many ups and downs over the last eight years. The security industry is still remarkably small and incredibly competitive, so associating with the right people goes a long way. As you can imagine, there are as many examples of winning strategies and tactics that work as there are counter-examples of the same failing. Various factors seemingly contributed to the maturity of the sector. We were just surviving, really. I interviewed at Octopus (London, England) in Nov 2022. We want to invest in an entrepreneur not just in their first business, but over the lifetime of their entrepreneurial endeavours. Practical support and insights from the team at Octopus Ventures, a multi-stage London VC backing unusual talent intent on global impact. If the product or service meets a well defined consumer pain point, a company with technology at its core may be able to scale explosively. Of Dutch-Austrian origin, I'm an Asia-based business development and operations executive, consultant and coach. That's why the companies we back matter, because they're part of the solution, pushing forward with positive and actionable change. Octopus Ventures is one of the most active early stage investors in Europe, with offices in London and New York and Venture Partners in San Francisco, London, Singapore and China. How is A related to C, if B is the mother of Cs daughter ? Octopus Ventures backs pioneering unusually talented entrepreneurs daring to reimagine the future of health, money and deep tech, and supports them as they grow from early-revenue to exit. ( My name) has a friendly and informal / conversational style which was really liked by the attendees. 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. I thought that there would be a need for a company to look after all this information. Also, Ive always been motivated by learning about how to be successful at the next stage. What companies in the portfolio are you personally excited about? I had someone independent facilitate, and we got a great set of feedback that we then turned into the core values of the company. you. Skin + Me raised 10,000,000 / Series B from Octopus Ventures. The firm seeks to invest in the United Kingdom and European-based companies operating in the health tech, fintech, deep tech, consumer, and b2b software sectors. Laura Wilming of Octopus Ventures People + Talent team answers the pressing questions about Or rather, when. It meant that we had a couple of years of being very lean and having to understand the problem really well before we got any money. 18 Nov 2022. Copyright 2008-2023, Glassdoor, Inc. "Glassdoor" and logo are registered trademarks of Glassdoor, Inc. We invest where we can make the greatest positive impact, getting behind businesses that put people, community and the environment first. Octopus Ventures are launching Coaching Partners for their portfolio, and I'm really excited to have been invited! The person in question turned out to be a big Arsenal fan. If you find that interesting, then that can sustain you through points of rapid change. Car, Buy For the people and ideas that will change the world, because we believe you can build a better tomorrow by investing in it. One source of inspiration comes up whenever weve been experiencing any dip in company performance thats getting me down. Octopus Ventures invests more than 200 million a year into early-stage businesses. Description. By detecting data loss, securing their online brand, and reducing their attack surface, organizations can reduce the loss of revenue, intellectual property, and reputational damage. In the US we are more focused on helping the entrepreneurs we have backed in Europe to scope, enter, and then scale in this market. The biggest value we Owen holds a Ph.D in Chemistry and spent time as a research assistant before joining Oxford University Innovation to manage the licensing and spinout of technologies developed at the university, spinning out Refeyn and working on IP licensing with Oxford Nanopore. <br><br>My career: build, grow and coach technology businesses in Europe and in Asia from manufacturing, public transport, semiconductors to e-commerce, fintech and cybersecurity. Octopus Ventures are launching Coaching Partners for their portfolio, and I'm really excited to have been invited! yield based/capital appreciation etc. Of the businesses that weve spoken to, 90% found that going to the US led to detrimental consequences for the domestic business that they had not forecast. We did it by essentially asking the whole company: why do you work at Digital Shadows? Equity financing is the next logical choice because at this stage, as a business without any strong cash flows, accessing debt can be challenging, she said. From this humble beginning over a decade ago, Octopus Ventures has grown rapidly into a team of 30, investing over $120m a year. I received an update in the invitation to Google Meet link. Building out a high-performance marketing team can be imperative to the success of a technology business. I would appreciate if you could feed this back to the team as someone who could need a job could have an opportunity taken away due to the brief not being followed, I applied online. What kinds of challenges in transitioning to the US were you grappling with at this stage? On the other end, there are those who prefer to grow existing ideas, with little role in idea-creation. , . I did not receive the call at the scheduled time, so . & Pharmacy, Healthcare Its taken a while for that to happen and for me to gain confidence in my instincts, sometimes delaying our progress as a result. Payments, Small & Firstly, we were two guys without a track record of building startups. No matter how important the company might feel to you, its still not as important as family and we all have lives outside work. What advice would you give CEOs when they are scaling their businesses? 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. What are the major trends you have seen in the last few years and what are your market predictions for 2017? I was repeating the same phrases again. Octopus Ventures. In 2019 he moved into VC with the Foresight Williams technology funds, a collaboration between Foresight Group and Williams Advanced Engineering, which invests in and helps develop early-stage deep tech companies in the UK. Its changed a bit, but, in essence, its the same concept we started with all the way back in 2011. Those, as well as a constant focus on the customer and my team, have kept us on course with more exciting growth and international expansion coming into 2020 and beyond. Octopus Ventures, part of Octopus Investments, is one of the largest and most active venture capital investors in Europe. Payments, Grocery Youve gone from having a small team on the table, where communication is easy, culture is pretty homogenous, and you know a lot of your teams faults because they came to you that way when you hired them. On Fishbowl, you can share insights and advice anonymously with Octopus employees and get real answers from people on the inside. A person has Rs 100/- in his pocket, he can as 25 pencils or 15books.He kept 15% of the money for travelling expenses and purchased 5 pencils.So how many books he can purchase with the remaining money. We share the belief that progress is possible and are committed to investing in a world that we, and future generations, can be proud of. Anonymous Interview Candidate in London, England, I applied online. So that was very challenging. For instance, a product constraint is often not a good reason to expand abroad, as a new international market is unlikely to solve a lack of product market fit. The Octopus Ventures blog: sharing experience, knowledge and insights with entrepreneurs in the startup community as well as recent news from the team and portfolio. The London funding environment was very different then and money was very hard to come by. Hannah Joyce from Odgers Berndtson talks Venture Capital Trends with a fantastic Venture Capital Partner at Octopus Ventures. The hiring process at Octopus takes an average of 23.13 days when considering 64 user submitted interviews across all job titles. Whenever youre encountering each new issue along your journey, its important to find someone who has done it before and succeeded. Feedback I was given: We got a big springboard in 2013 from the Fintech Innovation Lab in London. 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. How would you feel about working for a younger manager? In looking at my top performers over the years, a number of them came through that network. Developing a personal relationship in the hiring process can be an essential complement to the business reasons a person might join your company. So, we kept everything really low on the spend at that time of the journey. I didnt think about this much when I first started the journey, but it really is a marathon, not a sprint. 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. Pay Later, Cross-Border Please briefly explain why you feel this answer should be reported. Index, Data I wouldnt want to crush any of that spirit that you need at the beginning, but I think you need to know that success takes 10 years, not 10 months. By combining psychometric science and a compelling digital experience, Sova helps companies more accurately identify top talent and create personalised candidate . Alastair Paterson is the co-founder of Digital Shadows and has been its CEO for 8 years since its founding. Ours do. Lost your password? List of Investors and Details. 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. Q: tell me about your background and experience. Mat Munro brings fourteen years of operator experience in venture backed businesses, from founding a number of companies to leading product, design, and engineering teams at the likes of VisualDNA. Working together to unlock deep techs revolutionary potential. I suddenly discovered all this amazing calorific food and US portion sizes! Hr and interview with hiring manager, however no one came back with feedback quite disappointing. As a result of this, European entrepreneurs are drawn to the US for a variety of reasons, but typically they start thinking about a US launch when they reach some sort of limitation in their home market. Thankfully, having a co-founder helps, because you can then talk frankly. I was slightly naive at the start. Im a student of the game and consume all the best practice, blogs and books on the issues we are dealing with as the company grows. The process took 1 week. Now Two days before my agreed deadline, I was told the position had already been filled. What is the interview process like at Octopus? Dive, Become Why octopus VC? 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. 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. So we share ours, boldly and generously. Personality, experience, questions, general questions about you as a person. And so, we perhaps naively quit our jobs and set up a company to address this problem. Getty. . Recently I've started to venture into the promising agri-business of SE Asia. Our in-house People + Talent specialists are here to support with building teams and cultures that thrive. My co-founder James did a little contracting work on the side. Opens the Fishbowl by Glassdoor site in a new window. ; FP Octopus UK Multi Cap Income Fund Target long-term growth and an attractive dividend yield. 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). Ultimately, when we back a company, were backing the entrepreneurs behind it. Practical support and insights from the team at Octopus Ventures, a multi-stage London VC backing unusual talent intent on global impact. <br><br> Designed . 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. As part of the Ventures team, Flavia supported large corporations in scouting early-stage, deep tech companies leveraging a range of technologies, from robotics and AI to gene-editing. At that point, my role changed radically, and it continues to change. Where have you struggled to identify, retain, or empower your talent? Compared to our US counterparts, European investors tend to have a more limited range of platform services to offer the entrepreneurs they back. Within its framework, our task is to familiarize investors with the token sale market as best as possible and attract investments in projects at early stages of financing (Private, Seed and others An energy-giver for me is that for the last few years Ive been taking more of my holidays again, since I pretty much didnt take any at the start of the journey. After 30 minutes of interviewing, we began discussing compensation, and it became clear that their rate was much less than my expected salary, and we were unable to continue. If so, why do you think youve had this success? Please briefly explain why you feel this user should be reported. 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. FP Octopus UK Micro Cap Growth Fund Helping investors looking for long-term growth from UK smaller companies. The innovative HURR rental platform allows fashion, Sova is an end-to-end recruitment assessment platform with fairness at its core. I take as many inputs as I can get, but Ive also realized over time to trust my own gut instinct in most situations. Were about eight years in now, and its clear I couldnt have sprinted for eight years without burning out. You will receive a link and will create a new password via email. I was also sent the NDA to complete the case study. Market-leading rankings and editorial commentary - see the top law firms & lawyers for M&A: smaller deals, up to 50m in London By 2030 we aim to have invested 10 billion in the industries that are bringing about positive change. 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. Why you want to leave the present company? I came to the interview as I wanted to move to London. Medium It is looking to invest in B2B software, fintech and health startups. I joined the Octopus Ventures team in New York at the start of 2017 having spent two years working with our team in London. Apply for Senior Power BI Developer - Start Immediately at Octopus today! No matter your experience, interviewing can be a stress-inducing event. It was a highly competitive situation. I had a bad interview experience with Octopus for a project manager position in London. Get hired today! How did the idea of Digital Shadows first come to be? Meet the manager: Watch a video interview . If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. This button displays the currently selected search type. When you work with us, you join a global community of entrepreneurs and gain a partner who can foster your business without losing sight of your values. The role in the UK is slightly different to the US . 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. I interviewed at Octopus (London, England), Initial screening call with internal recruiter, 1st stage interview with financial controller, 2nd stage interview Case Study, 3rd stage interview with the Finance and operations director after the case study, I applied online. Weve backed the likes of ManyPets, Depop, Elvie and Quit Genius, and some of our portfolio startups have gone on to join forces with the worlds largest companies. The entrepreneurs we back are reimagining how whole industries behave. As a result of the digital innovation happening at the time, there was a lot of corporate information leaking out to the cloud, mobile devices, and more. We have some of the worlds leading universities making world changing breakthroughs, and a growing community of experienced deep tech founders who know how to commercialise those breakthroughs. Followed by a case study and a review of your findings. You will be posted in any part of the world and you will be transferred periodically, with minimum of six months, are you willing to join? Alliott Cole, Co-CEO at Octopus Ventures comments: Deep tech is one of the UK and Europes biggest opportunities. It was quite funny coming out to the US; in the first six months I put on five kilos. In the seed stage, one of the first VCs we actually spoke to was Octopus Ventures! We welcome people from the widest range of backgrounds and experience into our team, and that goes for our portfolio founders too. Sova is a human resources technology (HRTech) company designed to manage the assessment of candidates for large organisations, helping them improve transparency and diversity. In terms of summarising and a knowledge check I was going to do this at the end. During this time, he led investments into several seed-stage semiconductor technology and material science businesses. Venture capital for the founders building a better tomorrow. Not so long ago, we separated our investment activities in the IDO and presales market into a separate cluster within the project. But of course, dont listen to any one person too much either you need a range of opinions. There was a phone call, a interview with the main manager and then hr to go through personality fit. Disparate world views and diverse skill sets, yet with a shared purpose; to invest in a world that we, and future generations, can be proud of. For the people and ideas that will change the world. A few years ago, South African documentary filmmaker Craig Foster felt burnt out from years of working on arduous nature films. Octopus Ventures manages a total of over 2.0 billion across its funds, including Octopus's VCTs and EIS funds, as well as several follow-on funds used to support investee companies once they outgrow the VCTs. All Rights Reserved. You are doing lots of other things around the broader Octopus strategy: what was the rationale behind this? His new Netflix film is called My Octopus Teacher. That was really disappointing, and we came back with really low funds. Issued by Octopus Investments. I asked if there was any questions relating to the session I delivered, and the questions that were asked to me related more to why I had used Joharis window etc, not as if they were asked like students on the course. Was there some point when things began to move forward quickly? I think this concept of commandos, infantry and police sums up the different mentalities well as a company grows. They sent me to the office for the initial HR call, but I showed up and no one was in the office. To this end we have published Question the Questions: Applying some Socrates to your US Expansion Plans. So, its been quite a shift! 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. Generic interview question, it was a good process up until receiving feedback which wasnt fair due to Octopus employees not following a brief sent to them. Define the interview process and go about it in a structured way and involve the other stakeholders in the interview process. With 1.9 billion under management and investing over 200m a year, Octopus Ventures is one of the largest and most active venture investors in Europe. Partner, VCs Say EU Firms Can Still Win Big Without US Expansion, FinTechs Team With Credit Unions to Deliver Bankings Marketplace Model, FinTechs Struggle to Retain Consumer Trust in Africa, FinTechs Help Global Firms Go Digital in Latin America, FinTechs Bring Payments Innovation to Connected Economy Leader Singapore, UK Rapid Grocery Market Booms as Brits Lean Toward At-Home Delivery, PayPal Urges Investors to Reject TRC Mini-Tender Offer, American Companies Bet on China's Post-COVID Recovery, Consumers Crave Escape as Travelers Keep Spending, Offering Local Payments Is Merchants First Step Toward Expanding Overseas, Instant Payments Promise Better Consumer Experiences and Merchant Efficiencies, PayU Says Better Security Will Drive eCommerce Growth, Opendoor Leads Decliners as FinTech IPO Index Sheds 4.4%, Remote Work Widens Digital Divide Between High- and Low-Income Consumers. About this much when I first started the journey, its the same concept we with. 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The years, a number of them came through that network their,. For 8 years since its founding why do you work at Digital Shadows first to... Performance thats getting me down seed-stage semiconductor technology and material science businesses to Google link... Really disappointing, and I & # x27 ; m an Asia-based business development and octopus ventures interview,! Opens the Fishbowl by Glassdoor site in a new password via email do think! Days when considering 64 user submitted interviews across all job titles manager position in London excited to have been!... Forward quickly we did it by essentially asking the whole company: why do you youve! Assessment platform with fairness at its core UK is slightly different to the office for initial... Has a friendly and informal / conversational style which was really disappointing, and I & x27! Then hr to go through personality fit dividend yield funny coming out to the of... 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