What is the interview process like at Octopus? 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. What companies are you interested in at the moment and why? In most roles, you get to moan to your co-workers about challenges in your job. Relative to most European markets, the US market is larger on almost all metrics and the Bay Area is home to many of the most successful technology companies of the last 50 years. Then, you can help in the right moments, and they realise that you care about them as human beings, not just as execution machines for the company. Our team is spread across the US, the UK, Singapore and China, with the weight of the team being split between offices in London and New York. Sova is a human resources technology (HRTech) company designed to manage the assessment of candidates for large organisations, helping them improve transparency and diversity. Investment Stage Early Stage Venture, Late Stage Venture, Seed. Thats an insightful question. PYMNTS Data: Why Consumers Are Trying Digital Wallets. What are your views on what you feel some of the impacts AI is going to have on businesses and consumers that perhaps they dont realise yet? How do a CEOs personal characteristics influence success in this role? Around the same time, I newly became an uncle and began thinking about what the world would be like for my niece and nephew. I interviewed at Octopus (London, England) in Nov 2022. Being a B Corp means our social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency have been assessed and certified. Hub Tags Crunchbase Venture Program. On the other end, there are those who prefer to grow existing ideas, with little role in idea-creation. I interviewed at Octopus (London, England) in Jan 2022. Top 10 Money Making Apps That Will Help Earn Up To $1000, 10 Ways to Earn $100 Every Day Online from Home, octopus ventures General Aptitude Questions, octopus ventures Personal Questions round Questions, 20 common asked question in every interview. So, we kept everything really low on the spend at that time of the journey. You have a group interview over teams which was supposed to last 10-12 but it went on for about 6 hours. 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. It is looking to invest in B2B software, fintech and health startups. The interview process is very time consuming. Funding Round Jan 30, 2023. Pay Later, Cross-Border That's why the companies we back matter, because they're part of the solution, pushing forward with positive and actionable change. Be the first to find this interview helpful. The biggest value we 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 had someone independent facilitate, and we got a great set of feedback that we then turned into the core values of the company. Watch Our Last Interview Video:. Theres a lot be said about timing when it comes to startups. Should we choose to hire you for the post ? Its changed a bit, but, in essence, its the same concept we started with all the way back in 2011. News Feb 15, 2023. In the final part of our conversation, Alastair and I focus on hiring, founder CEOs growing a company all the way to maturity, and the advice he'd give a CEO starting the journey. greg jackson octopus wife | February 26 / 2023 | where can i use my klarna credit cardwhere can i use my klarna credit card Since then, weve gone from a pre-seed to a Series C company! When I joined, we were a few hundred people and we were a couple of thousand when I left. Define the interview process and go about it in a structured way and involve the other stakeholders in the interview process. Richard Anson comments: Im super excited to have joined the Octopus Ventures deeptech team. We focus on building a more sustainable planet, empowering people and revitalising healthcare. The head of our People & Talent team, Laura C. Willming, joined Jimmy's Jobs to talk about how founders can build a brilliant team! What will be Bs share in the total profit of Rs. No matter how important the company might feel to you, its still not as important as family and we all have lives outside work. As your company goes on a journey, so does your team. Theyve helped to build some of the worlds fastest-growing businesses, and bring that knowledge and experience to help founders build their own teams. You will receive a link and will create a new password via email. During the call, I could hear other people chatting louder than the interviewer, and it was challenging to understand what was going on. Mat is also a long-time collaborator with Octopus Ventures through his time as CPO at Octopus Ventures backed Conversocial, ahead of the businesss successful exit in 2021. We do not offer investment or tax advice. We try to encourage real honesty and robust thinking when making this decision. . 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. 03942880. 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 applied online. Effective induction. You have to be focused on the next milestones and what will allow you to raise or have a sustainable business. Then you get a second call discu. 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. During a given week a programmer spend 1/4 of his time preparing charts,3/8 of his time for coding,rest of his time for debugging the programs.If he had 48 hrs during the week how many hours did he spend debugging the program. I had a bad interview experience with Octopus for a project manager position in London. When youre running low on energy and motivation, where do you go to seek inspiration, encouragement, support, or just general fuel in your tank? We see a lot of angel investing in the market how is the pre-seed market affecting Octopuss access to deal flow? These are the general steps we follow note that the process is slightly different at the pre-seed stage of investment. Under his leadership, the Octopus Ventures investment team has evolved to specialise in health, fintech, deep tech, B2B software and . Il permet de dtailler la liste des options de recherche, qui modifieront les termes saisis pour correspondre la slection actuelle. A PYMNTS study, New Payments Options: Why Consumers Are Trying Digital Wallets finds that 52% of US consumers tried out a new payment method in 2022, with many choosing to give digital wallets a try for the first time. Investor Type Venture Capital. Its harder to instinctively identify good people for a role that you, as CEO, are less familiar with: you have to spend more time trying to vet them independently and use background references. I wish I was an octopus so I could slap 8 people. Ours do. I just thought back then that there would be huge privacy and security implications in this world where information was being shared online, stored, and protected in ways that were not well understood. This meant that I could get back on the plane to the US pretty soon after. . Apply for full-time jobs, part-time jobs, student jobs, internships and temp jobs. By the numbers, just over half are currently operational in the US, with the majority based on the East Coast. The Johari's window tool was also particularly liked by the group and your explanation around how you'd leverage that more broadly was very well received. Is this a problem or just a fact of life? 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. Related: VCs Say EU Firms Can Still Win Big Without US Expansion. Let us help you get to the right place so you can read the stories most relevant to Leverate have worked with a number of Octopus Ventures portfolio companies to help accelerate growth into new markets such as the US, Continental Europe and Asia. I take as many inputs as I can get, but Ive also realized over time to trust my own gut instinct in most situations. Weve not got all of our hiring right over the years, but the key is to recognize when youve got it wrong and, brutal though it sounds, make the changes quickly. Practical support and insights from the team at Octopus Ventures, a multi-stage London VC backing unusual talent intent on global impact. 2022 Just Crack Interview. 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. That kept the lights on. I think that, of all things, these points have been the most helpful to me along the way. 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. Joining the team are: Richard Anson, Academic Lead at Conception X and former CEO of Reevoo. I also think the role a CEO plays in setting culture is critical in a scale-up company, particularly with multiple offices in different places. The companys earliest investments include its 2007 backing of natural language AI developer, True Knowledge, acquired by Amazon in 2012 to become a key component of Alexa, and its 2010 investment in embedded systems specialist, UltraSoc, which became part of Siemens in 2020. No matter how competent the team might be, the critiques of the company are directed at the CEO. Various factors seemingly contributed to the maturity of the sector. Ultimately, your network is incredibly important in getting the right talent in this industry, alongside maintaining your reputation and integrity to attract the best people. 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. Funding Round Feb 15, 2023. Our mission is simple to invest in the people, ideas and industries that will change the world. I interviewed at Octopus. How is A related to C, if B is the mother of Cs daughter ? Still, at that point as the founder and the CEO, youre just scrambling and doing everything, and the focus has to be on getting the initial customers. Index, Data (My name) set the tone for the session well and set out clear objectives and a nice structure. As a CEO, you have to learn how to look after yourself which I started doing a better job of after around year four. Are there any specific qualities that are required to help people scale? Relationships outside of work have an outsized effect in providing encouragement and support. From speaking to our portfolio and other European start-ups, weve found that a strategy that can work very effectively is building up an in-house marketing function whilst also using external agencies tactically to achieve specific goals, such as managing staffing shortfalls, coping with rapid periods of growth, exploring new channels, optimising existing channels and entering new markets. Yet for us, investment is multi-dimensional, and will always be about . 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