Feedback also highlighted that your answers to questions were strong. Meet the manager: Watch a video interview . We would like to show you a description here but the site won't allow us. What advice would you give CEOs when they are scaling their businesses? 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. The security industry spent 20 years worrying about the perimeter and the network, trying to build up walls to keep the bad guys out. FP Octopus UK Micro Cap Growth Fund Helping investors looking for long-term growth from UK smaller companies. Please briefly explain why you feel this answer should be reported. . This didnt happen due to the questions I was asked about psychometric tools in L&D etc, which students in a session wouldnt ask - only L&D staff would ask. 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. Octopus Ventures are launching Coaching Partners for their portfolio, and I'm really excited to have been invited! What kinds of challenges in transitioning to the US were you grappling with at this stage? 20,000. It was a whos who of the security industry in the US and theyve been very helpful in terms of hiring and retention. Read more. Please briefly explain why you feel this user should be reported. 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. Our team in the US is focused almost entirely on helping our European portfolio scope and enter the US market. I'm in wonderful company alongside Katy | 12 LinkedIn Find Best octopus ventures Interview Questions and Answers with examples and octopus ventures Placement Papers. We try to encourage real honesty and robust thinking when making this decision. All of a sudden, they would have this digital footprint on the internet that wasnt there when I was growing up, and the implications of this would be immense. Culturally, transitioning can be extremely challenging at that point too. 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. Case study: provided a fund performance pack with key metrics. To date we have backed the founding teams of nearly 100 companies including Zoopla, Secret Escapes, Elvie, Depop, Sofar Sounds and Cazoo. Some of them can adapt to the new stage, and some of them cant. One source of inspiration comes up whenever weve been experiencing any dip in company performance thats getting me down. Should we choose to hire you for the post ? This employer has claimed their Employer Profile and is engaged in the Glassdoor community. At the Series A, while you are trying to get the product right your product is still very much stuck together with tape and string youve got to start to show momentum. 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. ; 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. Data, Artifical During this time, he led investments into several seed-stage semiconductor technology and material science businesses. Medium Basically, I spent two days on the firm determining that we did not match on the foundation. 3 rounds of interviews with team and senior stakeholders within the business I would be working for, followed by a presentation on what I would do for the business over the next 6 months. It 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. 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. Since Europe also picked up again at that time, we ended up with about five term sheets and closed out a Series A at the end of the year. One of those milestones has to be revenue, and if youre trying to raise from US investors, they prize US revenue over everything else. I didnt think about this much when I first started the journey, but it really is a marathon, not a sprint. So annoying when you invest time and end up not receiving answers. 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. 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. Our knowledge, our network and our collective ambition are what our entrepreneurs want. Where have you struggled to identify, retain, or empower your talent? A man said to his son, I was two-third of your present age when you were born. 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. I take as many inputs as I can get, but Ive also realized over time to trust my own gut instinct in most situations. The role will almost always be a tough, long one, even if youre successful. I was slightly naive at the start. So, we kept everything really low on the spend at that time of the journey. That helps considerably Im familiar with many of the structures and processes that need to be in place as a company grows. Richard Anson comments: Im super excited to have joined the Octopus Ventures deeptech team. For journalists in their professional capacity only. Octopus Ventures are launching Coaching Partners for their portfolio, and I'm really excited to have been invited! How did the idea of Digital Shadows first come to be? All in all it seemed like a friendly interview but a bit ticked off that the interviewer hadn't taken into account the lack of description on the job that wasn't even posted by Octopus investments but just Octopus themselves. Benjamin Davis, a 12-year veteran within the Octopus Group and current CEO of Octopus Real Estate, will succeed Ruth Handcock as of today. For example, I wanted to make a senior US hire from one of the major industry analyst firms after our Series A. The process took 1 week. Connect with Hannah on http://twitter.com/HannahLJoyce Filmed, Edited \u0026 Produced by Veena V Youtube http://www.youtube.com/officialveenavContact http://www.VeenaV.com/contact-me How would you feel about working for a younger manager? Also, for me, fitness is big thing I still play football, I run a lot, and I snowboard as often as possible. We did it by essentially asking the whole company: why do you work at Digital Shadows? . 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. They partner with founders on everything, from making the right hire to setting the culture and structure for growth. Compared to our US counterparts, European investors tend to have a more limited range of platform services to offer the entrepreneurs they back. This may be a product, market, capital or hiring constraint. 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). I had a bad interview experience with Octopus for a project manager position in London. As Digital Shadows began to scale in the US and London, I imagine some of your roles and responsibilities as a CEO changing. There is a common sentiment in the early stage industry that founder CEOs are often not built to grow from the two-person team all the way to the CEO of a mature company, or in some cases just do not wish to do so. Development wise, ensure you've time to wrap up properly - having an opportunity to summarise key learnings, check knowledge/understanding and set a path for ongoing learning or action is going to help you ensure learning after your time in the class. You have to be focused on the next milestones and what will allow you to raise or have a sustainable business. Why octopus VC? Funding Round Feb 15, 2023. Fintech Portfolio. Octopus Ventures has previously backed some of the UK's most successful entrepreneurs, making . Payments, More Im still data driven now and trust a range of my connections, but I also trust my gut more, which in most cases is backed up by the data anyway. Ive always believed that ethics, integrity, diversity and values can have a big impact on why people join you and our VP Sales for the Americas, Maria, was kind enough to write about that here. From this humble beginning over a decade ago, Octopus Ventures has grown rapidly into a team of 30, investing over $120m a year. 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. We build long-lasting relationships with founders, investing as early as an idea on a page and supporting at every stage of growth with funding, but also with humility and hands-on support for founders and their teams. That kept the lights on. 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. 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. Now Common stages of the interview process at Octopus according to 64 Glassdoor interviews include: Glassdoor has millions of jobs plus salary information, company reviews, and interview questions from people on the inside making it easy to find a job thats right for you. 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. Now we are close to 180 people. Yes. I think that, of all things, these points have been the most helpful to me along the way. We are a team that backs entrepreneurs. Please briefly explain why you feel this question should be reported. Issued by Octopus Investments. Since then, weve gone from a pre-seed to a Series C company! yield based/capital appreciation etc. By the numbers, just over half are currently operational in the US, with the majority based on the East Coast. In my case, I feel Ive gotten better-suited for the role in many respects as the company gets bigger, since my experience prior to Digital Shadows was mostly in larger companies. Were always on the lookout for opportunities to partner with innovators and disruptors. So, we tried really hard to do a good job with the hiring. Staying really active helps lower my stress and generally keeps me healthy and able to deal with the challenges of my role. This mix of attributes is very attractive to a venture investor. 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. We focus on building a more sustainable planet, empowering people and revitalising healthcare. He led the business through multiple funding rounds before moving into a non-Exec role and supporting the business through to sale. Pay Later, Cross-Border Had an initial screening call then a follow up 1 hour first stage interview with the recruiter and the department lead split between 30mins each. After successful trials that were pretty tough, we were working every hour and learning exceptionally quickly on this 3-month program. Thankfully, Im back down to where I was now! Alastair Paterson is the co-founder of Digital Shadows and has been its CEO for 8 years since its founding. The highly active London-headquartered VC has built a dedicated pre-seed team led by former senior staff at Seedcamp and Uber. She mentioned that Innovate UKoffers grants that help build a startup without any dilution to ownership and grants present another viable option. Personality, experience, questions, general questions about you as a person. Clich, I know! 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. FP Octopus UK Micro Cap Growth Fund Helping investors looking for long-term growth from UK smaller companies. Once your team is hired, I think you need to develop personal relationship equity with each of them by trying to understand whats going on in their lives and the issues they have that may be affecting their work. 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. 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. ), 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). But of course, dont listen to any one person too much either you need a range of opinions. 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. 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. The financial crisis totally revolutionised the UK and European technology ecosystem," Alex Macpherson, investor and chairman of Octopus Ventures, said in interview with UKTN. The head of our People & Talent team, Laura C. Willming, joined Jimmy's Jobs to talk about how founders can build a brilliant team! By 2030 we aim to have invested 10 billion in the industries that are bringing about positive change. 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. The entrepreneurs we back are reimagining how whole industries behave. Creating a team with this as our core focus and culture is critical. While nearly all of the businesses we back are started in Europe, almost all are intent on building for a global audience and success in the US is a critical milestone on this journey. Payments, Grocery By combining psychometric science and a compelling digital experience, Sova helps companies more accurately identify top talent and create personalised candidate . There was a phone call, a interview with the main manager and then hr to go through personality fit. Read our findings on the metrics that matter. I applied online. Octopus Ventures has closed a $12.3 million pre-seed funding round that the company plans to use to continue the expansion of its B2B FinTech platform across the EMEA region, according to a Thursday (June 23) blog post. Octopus Ventures, part of Octopus Investments, is one of the largest and most active venture capital investors in Europe. 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. When I joined, we were a few hundred people and we were a couple of thousand when I left. 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. Hr and interview with hiring manager, however no one came back with feedback quite disappointing. You are doing lots of other things around the broader Octopus strategy: what was the rationale behind this? We bootstrapped and funded ourselves from a number of government grants and angel investment. The first interview was set up by the interviewer Victoria, who specified that it would be a phone conversation. Octopus Investments has also announced its plans to invest 50 billion in the people, ideas and industries that will change the world, by 2030. Id had a seven-year journey at my previous employer. Personal opinions may change and should not be seen as advice or a recommendation. I am now surrounded by an amazing group of people, with an impressive track record in the sector. What advice would you give a CEO just starting out on their founding journey? 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 . 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. Hannah works with the Founders of pure play technology and digital companies that have received VC, Growth or PE funding who are keen to develop, scale and drive their businesses to become global players. You need the right idea AND timing. When youre running low on energy and motivation, where do you go to seek inspiration, encouragement, support, or just general fuel in your tank? Working at @OctopusVentures seeking unusually talented entrepreneurs, based in NYC. Companies were suddenly exposed in a way that they werent before. In London our team spend more of their time seeking talented entrepreneurs to back and then helping them day to day with the challenges that come with building a fast growing young company. Thankfully, having a co-founder helps, because you can then talk frankly. Around the same time, I newly became an uncle and began thinking about what the world would be like for my niece and nephew. Feedback I sent back to them: Ill take any feedback onboard. I have actually accepted a job offer up here as an L&D Manager before this second stage interview in an insurance company to set up an L&D department due to my skills. 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. Given the ubiquity of mobile and cloud computing, these types of companies are also able to reach global audiences in a capital efficient way.
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