Listen to the 'Inside Octopus Energy' podcast
Lots of people want to know what happens inside Octopus Energy. Most importantly, our ever-expanding team. So, we've started a podcast. Browse latest episodes below, or skip to find out more about why we chose to make a podcast.
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The latest from Inside Octopus Energy...
Ep 13: How our US team is achieving rapid growth while helping customers through the energy crisis
The US team talk to us about their exciting growth over the last 18 months and deep-dive into some of the new programs and campaigns to help customers during the crisis. We chat with Michael Lee, the CEO of Octopus Energy US, Lily Stein, an Octopus veteran and Naja Cossey, the US Director of Marketing.
Ep 12: A new energy era - how households can help balance the grid AND get paid for it
Alex Schoch, who heads up our global flexibility team, and Devrim Celal, the CEO of Octopus’ flexibility technology arm KrakenFlex, discuss how to unlock the untapped resource of household flexibility.
Bonus Episode: Energy Saving Tips with the Founder of the Energy Advice UK Facebook group
Energy Advice UK is a well-regarded Facebook group, founded by Gemma Hatvani in 2020, that now holds 100,000+ members. Octopus's Chief Product Officer Rebecca Dibb-Simkin talks to Gemma and her colleague Ian about their rollercoaster journey, how their community supports each other and works with suppliers, and shares some energy efficiency advice from the group.
Ep 11: The Fan Club - providing cheaper energy when the wind is blowing
One of the most exciting innovations is Octopus Energy's 'Fan Club'. In this episode, we deep-dive into the world’s first local tariff that provides cheaper energy to customers living near wind turbines when the wind blows, with a discount of up to 50%.
Ep 10: Going Global and meeting the team in Germany
A new podcast showcase, where we deep dive into Octopus Energy's global territories to get a real understanding of what it's like to work here and some of the ongoing projects being worked on. For the first in this series, we're off to Octopus Energy Germany with Andrew Mack and his team.
Ep 9: How we're making energy greener
Renewables are the cheapest way to generate electricity, but to move the world to a fully green energy system we need to build more solar and wind farms. This episode delves into the world of Octopus Energy's green generation arm. Joined by Zoisa North-Bond, CEO of Octopus Energy Generation, Matt Setchell, Co-head of Octopus Renewables, Paul Loran, Head of Innovation, and Ashleigh Gray, Chief of Staff, they talk about how Octopus is disrupting the renewable generation space in favour of consumers.
Energy Crisis Special with our Founder Greg Jackson
The UK currently faces a massive hike in energy bills as a result of global energy prices, which will force many more families into fuel poverty. Octopus Energy CEO and founder, Greg Jackson talks about the crisis in our latest episode.
Ep 8: Going global, one country at a time
Octopus Energy has become a global company in just 5 years. In this episode, we find out if Octopus's success in the UK can serve as a blueprint for other countries. Joined by: Michael Lee, CEO of Octopus Energy USA; Roberto Giner, CEO of Octopus Energy, Spain; Giorgio Tomassetti, CEO of Octopus Energy, Italy; Hajime Nakamura CEO in Octopus Energy Japan, Ari Sargent, Managing Director of Octopus Energy, New Zealand and finally Octopus Energy Germany’s CEO, Andrew Mack.
COP26 Special: The Kids are all Bright
In a first for the Inside Octopus podcast, we feature no representative from Octopus Energy. Instead, we speak to the five-year-old winners of our fifth birthday competition, about what they did to win, how we can stop climate change, and why they're excited about the future.
Ep 7: A sneak peak inside Octopus Energy’s £10 million training and R&D centre
In this episode, Russell Goldsmith, takes a trip to Octopus Energy’s multi-million pound training and R&D centre, to discuss their commitment to the decarbonisation of heat and have a guided tour by pros working on the front line of the green heating revolution.
Ep 6: The transformative power of Kraken
In a first for the Inside Octopus podcast, we feature no representative from Octopus Energy. Instead, we speak to the five-year-old winners of our fifth birthday competition, about what they did to win, how we can stop climate change, and why they're excited about the future.
Episode 5: Why Octopus Energy doesn't have an HR department
Greg Jackson, CEO and founder of Octopus Energy, explained on the BBC's CEO Secrets series why Octopus Energy decided against having an HR department despite its considerable size. The interview headlined 'My billion-pound company has no HR department' sparked an, in parts, heated debate on social media among HR and business professionals and on the day ranked at number two in the most read articles in the BBC news app.
Episode 4: Interview with Rachel Fletcher, Director of Regulation and Economics
Rachel Fletcher from Octopus Energy chats about why she left her role as CEO of UK water regulator Ofwat to become our new Director of Regulation and Economics.
News Special: Octopus Energy US launch & the Texas Energy Crisis
This special episode introduces the Octopus Energy US team, just days before the State was hit by one of the worst winter storms it had seen in 100 years.
Listen in to Octopus Energy US CEO, Michael Lee, the US Head of Marketing, Natasha Crowe and Operations Lead, Kelly Rankine, who had only just moved to Texas a few months beforehand, having previously worked with Octopus Energy in the UK.
Ep 3: Growth
In this episode, we focus on growth and what it takes to go from zero to over 1.8 million customers in just four years.
Octopus Energy Chief Financial Officer and Co-Founder, Stuart Jackson, talks through everything from bringing on board the first customers, managing the rapid scaling of the business, and future plans.
Ep 2: Technology
In this episode, the topic of conversation was the unique technology that sits behind our products and services that is helping us to deliver Cheaper Greener Energy.
Joined by three of the Kraken team responsible for shaping and developing the technology platform: Gilly Ames, one of our Front-End Developers working on Kraken’s API; Ruby Mitchell, a Senior Operations Manager who supports a wide range of partners who have licensed the Kraken technology to use for themselves; and James Eddison, CTO and one of the company’s co-founders.
News Special: PM & Chancellor Visit Octopus Energy
This special episode was recorded after the UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, and Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, visited Octopus Energy's London offices to talk about the future of renewable energy, hear our announcement of 1,000 jobs and a new technology centre in Manchester, England.
Octopus Energy Founder & CEO, Greg Jackson and Clem Cowton, the company’s Director of External Affairs discuss the background to the visit, how and why we made it happen, what was discussed, what it means for the business and what changes it could bring.
Episode 1: Culture
Lots of people want to know what happens inside Octopus Energy and, most importantly, about our ever-expanding team. When we started, we all sat within earshot of every conversation, every phone call. We could see each other’s screens and learn what Octopus was from each other, as we built it. Now our team is spread across locations (including a lot of remote working), across time zones and continents, we need ever more ways to share what Octopus is.
Ep 0: Launch
A prequel to Ep 1 - Culture: Octopus Energy CEO, Greg Jackson, reveals why he set up the business in 2015, his plans moving forward, and how on track we are to realising his vision.
Greg talks us through how he scoped the business, why the name Octopus, his expectations for growth, the kind of business he wanted to build from the start, in terms of service expectation from customers, as well as his plans for the future.
Lots of people want to know what happens inside Octopus Energy. Most importantly, our ever-expanding team. When we started, we all sat within earshot of every conversation, every phone call. We could see each other’s screens and learn what Octopus was from each other, as we built it. Now our team is spread across locations (including a lot of remote working), across time zones and continents, we need ever more ways to share what Octopus is.
So, we're starting a podcast.
If you’re thinking of joining Octopus, and want to know if it’s right for you, this should be more insightful than a typical salesy web page. Similarly for the dozens, maybe hundreds of organisations who partner with us.
Beyond that, there are many people who think about company organisation and culture. Octopus is hot on decentralisation, devolved authority, upside-down management, trust, freedom and responsibility. Blue chip strategy consultants, Boston Consulting Group immersed themselves in our way of working and we’d like to open this up to others. Even competitors 🙂
Available now on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, Soundcloud, Acast, Deezer – discover our first few episodes and subscribe to catch new ones as they're released.
How Octopus came about
Just under six years ago, a small group of people in Hammersmith watched nervously as the very first customer signed up to the fledging green energy supplier, Octopus Energy.
Octopus entered the market with a desire to disrupt the status quo with energy that's good for the planet, good for your wallet, and, honestly, good for your soul.
The British energy industry was ruled by a handful of complacent dinosaurs peddling fossil fuels, pricing trickery and poor customer service, at a time when the fight against climate change was more and more urgent, and energy suppliers should have been leading the way in creating a global solution for renewable power, and not just focusing on lining their pockets.
This is the decade in which, contrary to everything humanity has experienced before, we have everything in our power. We have the capital, the technology, the policies. And we have the scientific knowledge to understand that we have to half our emissions by 2030.
Christiana Figueres, founder of the Global Optimism group and former head of the UN Climate Change Convention when the Paris agreement was achieved in 2015.
Today
Our cheaper, greener power and multi-award-winning customer service is enjoyed by over 1.5 million households across England, Scotland and Wales. The technology platform we’ve built, Kraken, brings people lower energy prices at times when the sun’s shining and the wind’s blowing, and our unique operating model works seamlessly to create excellence in customer experience through our brilliant team of over 700 energy experts in England, Scotland, Wales, Germany and Australia.
Our ambitions have always been bold, and we’re not stopping here. We are aiming for 100 million customers worldwide on our platform, and with operations now in Germany and US, and partners like M&S Energy and Co-op Energy, Arsenal and Origin, nearly ten million homes globally will be on that platform by the end of 2021.
Whilst I’m proud and privileged to lead the company, this rocket is the work of hundreds of people. When I meet new starters, most tell me they joined Octopus because they want to tackle climate change. Many tell me they’re here to fight for social justice - fairer energy costs here in the UK and other developed economies, and over time the opportunity to democratise clean energy globally. They’re proud of the technology they build - and the interest it’s attracted from around the world. Delivering outstanding customer service is in their DNA, and proving that clean energy can be cheaper, better energy is at the heart of what we do.
And whilst the Octopus Way is a part of our DNA, we’re transparent by nature, and so also wanted to try and share some of the secret sauce behind what has powered us to where we are today, and which will continue to drive our mission.
So we’ve started a podcast
Lots of people want to know what happens inside Octopus. Most importantly, our ever-expanding team. When we started, we all sat within earshot of every conversation, every phone call. We could see each other’s screens and learn what Octopus was from each other, as we built it. Now our team is spread across locations (including a lot of remote working), across time zones and continents, we need ever more ways to share what Octopus is.
And of course, if you’re thinking of joining Octopus, and want to know if it’s right for you, this should be more insightful than a typical salesy web page.
Beyond that, there are many people who think about company organisation and culture. Octopus is hot on decentralisation, devolved authority, upside-down management, trust, freedom and responsibility. Blue chip strategy consultants, Boston Consulting Group immersed themselves in our way of working and we’d like to open this up to others. Even competitors 🙂
Published on 8th February 2023 by:
Hey I'm Constantine, welcome to Octopus Energy!
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