Internship – Octopus Ventures

At Octopus, we’re entrepreneurs and we’re investors, on a mission to back the people, ideas and industries that will change the world. 

We think working here is great, but we’re understandably bias. Click here to explore Life at Octopus.

About the Role

What's in it for you?  

The First Cheque Fund Fellowship is a great opportunity to kickstart your early stage investing career. We’re looking for an intern to work within the First Cheque Fund for a 3 month internship, reporting to the Principals on the Pre-Seed Fund. 

This role will grow into being the first point of call for inbound founder applications. With over 400+ cold applications received by the First Cheque Fund team monthly, you’ll have access to several investment applications from founders across Europe and will learn the ropes of early stage investing during this process directly from Kirsten and Tilly.  

The team  

The Octopus First Cheque Fund invests early in founders across Europe building new technologies to solve the world’s toughest problems. We invest £100k in the first funding round and we invest across B2B Software, Fintech and Health.  

What will you be doing?  

• Review start-ups and share unique insight on market potential 
• Carry out constructive market research on companies 
• Participate in initial pitch review conversations with founders 
• Write up investment memos and develop a strong thesis 
• Make investment recommendations to the Investment Committee   

Qualifications

Qualifications 

Ideally, you’ll have some or all the following qualifications, skills, and job-related experience 

• Some exposure to early-stage technology start-ups across Europe 
• Highly process-oriented with a talent for simplifying complexity—skilled at analysing vast amounts of information, providing valuable context, and developing well-structured theses on companies, industries, and competitors. 
• Boost Operational Efficiency: Simplify workflows and enhance the Ops tech stack.  
• Drive Innovation & Strategy: Implement new technologies to strengthen investment processes and ecosystem engagement. 
• Excited about early-stage start-ups across B2B, Fintech or Digital Health   
• Could currently be completing an MBA Program (not a requirement to apply) 
• Strong written and spoken communication skills 
• A collaborative team player who prioritizes dedication over personal recognition, upholding exceptional professional and ethical standards. 
• Strong market research skills 

And to really stand out from the crowd, display the following qualities and characteristics: 

• Great interpersonal skills; easily connects with entrepreneurs 
• Passionate about pre-seed, supporting founders at their earliest stages 
• Good understanding of the European pre-seed market 
• Passionate about diversity and inclusion in VC 
• Data Driven; excited about qualitative and quantitative insight 

What we offer

✈️ Untracked holiday 
🏡 Hybrid working –  minimum 3 days a week in the office
⚓ Anchor (our wellness hub) which includes Headspace, one to one coaching through Wellness Cloud, Digital GP & more 
 

Our Values 
At our core, we believe that how a company behaves is just as important as what it does. That’s why we chose to become an accredited B Corp (the equivalent of a Fairtrade coffee stamp but for companies) and to change our Articles of Association so that the interests all our stakeholders – employees, customers, communities, environment and shareholders – are considered in every decision we make.   

We are committed to building a workplace where diversity is valued, and inclusion is a priority. By providing equal opportunities for growth and development, we embrace and celebrate all races, genders, religions, sexual orientations, ages, disabilities, and socio-economic backgrounds. We believe teams achieve their best when every member feels safe, respected and empowered to be their authentic selves.

We're proud to be disability confident and are committed to supporting candidates with a disability, including neurodiversity and mental health conditions, throughout the recruitment process. Applicants are welcome to opt-in to the disability confident scheme as part of our application process. If you require any adjustments to the interview process, we’ll be happy to accommodate where possible.