Entrepreneurship
We need a new breed of entrepreneur – one who defines success not by how much money their business makes but by the impact it has on the world around them.
The world today is more broken than ever. Lack of trust, inequality and the impact of climate change is all around us.
While governments and charities can help, the real (and most powerful) solution needs to come from business.
Specifically from entrepreneurs.
That’s what we want Octopus and our portfolio companies to be. An army of entrepreneurs, hungry to solve society’s greatest challenges.
“Entrepreneurs are today’s agents of change. And society needs them now more than ever”
Simon Rogerson, co-founder of Octopus
Octopus Springboard
Whenever you ask someone why they’ve not taken the leap and set up their own business, they invariably give you one of two reasons:
- They haven’t got the right idea yet. This, in our experience, is a bit of a cop out. Just copy someone else’s idea and execute it better.
- They feel like there’s too much to lose. Families, mortgages, and lack of funding can all make things very difficult.
That’s why, a few years ago, we launched Octopus Springboard. This programme is designed to encourage our employees to resign from Octopus and set up their own business.
We give them some start-up funding (typically £40,000) in return for a small share in their new business and then do everything in our power to help make them successful. But there’s a safety net built in. If they fail in the first nine months they can return to their previous role. We do this because we know that they’ll be far more useful having tried and failed than never having tried at all.
Parent Cloud – What if juggling careers and children was made easy? (Ok, easier)?
Our first successful Springboard applicant was Karen Taylor, the founder of Parent Cloud.
Parent Cloud is helping to tranform businesses by creating a workforce of healther, happier parents.
The benefits are clear – increased employee engagement, improved mental wellbeing and enhanced levels of gender inclusion.
Proud to be a B Corp
We’re thrilled to be one of the UK’s first financial services companies to meet the strict criteria to become a B Corp. To gain B Corp certification, a company needs to meet high standards and prove it has a positive impact not just on its workers and customers, but also on the wider community and environment.
