Revolutionizing Energy: Insights from Octopus Energy

Opening: Focusing on customer needs can drive innovation that disrupts entire industries. Quote: "

We started with the consumer and then worked backwards into the energy system.

" Takeaway:

• Greg Jackson prioritized customer experience over existing industry norms.
• By rethinking from the customer's perspective, Octopus Energy transformed the market.
• Founders can achieve disruption by building products around customer needs.

Opening: Accepting failure as part of the innovation process can accelerate company growth. Quote: "

And I think enabled us. To scale horizontally and vertically much faster than a traditional organization.

" Takeaway:

• Greg Jackson attributes rapid scaling to a culture that tolerates failure.
• Encouraging calculated risk-taking can lead to faster growth.
• Founders should foster an environment where teams can innovate without fear.

Opening: Crafting unique value propositions can attract customers in even the most traditional industries. Quote: "

We work with house builders to build homes where we guarantee no energy bills for 10 years... we're able to optimize all of that and a bit more actually, and then give you, we guarantee no energy bill.

" Takeaway:

• Greg Jackson offers homes with no energy bills by optimizing energy usage with technology.
• Innovative offerings set Octopus Energy apart from competitors.
• Founders should seek bold solutions that deliver exceptional customer value.

Opening: Leveraging data and machine learning can enhance product optimization and customer value. Quote: "

Kracken looks at 5 billion data lines per day to do that for EVs... we automatically schedule the charging, each car gets a different schedule every day.

" Takeaway:

• Greg Jackson uses massive data analysis to optimize electric vehicle charging.
• Personalized scheduling reduces costs and improves efficiency.
• Founders can utilize AI and data analytics to offer tailored solutions.

Opening: Licensing your technology to competitors can expand your impact and drive industry change. Quote: "

My perspective was like, once you do something with technology, you've proved it can be done, then sooner or later, others will copy it... I'd much rather we were that someone.

" Takeaway:

• Greg Jackson chose to license Kraken to competitors to stay ahead of potential imitators.
• By providing the platform, Octopus Energy influenced the entire industry.
• Founders can scale impact by sharing their technology strategically.

Opening: Building and leveraging your own platform can enable you to disrupt traditional industries. Quote: "

We started designing the journey... from a purely digital perspective that says how do we make this a much better experience for a customer.

" Takeaway:

• Greg Jackson used Kraken to revolutionize the energy sector with Octopus Energy.
• By focusing on customer experience and technology, he disrupted entrenched competitors.
• Founders can use proprietary platforms to innovate and reshape industries.

Opening: When early customers aren't ready, pivoting your approach can open new opportunities. Quote: "

We went to talk to some energy companies... and we realized that if we wanted to sell software into the energy sector, we first all had to build an energy company.

" Takeaway:

• Greg Jackson faced rejection from potential clients but adapted by building his own company.
• By pivoting to demonstrate value directly, he unlocked new opportunities.
• Founders should be ready to pivot strategies when facing initial rejection.

Opening: Innovative customer acquisition strategies can drive rapid growth in competitive markets. Quote: "

We had to street fight for our customers, you know, we had to literally find any way we could get of getting them knocking on doors, telesales, but relentlessly making sure that when they joined us, they got this experience, and then setting up a referral program so that they would tell friends about it.

" Takeaway:

• Greg Jackson used grassroots efforts and referrals to grow Octopus Energy's customer base.
• Providing exceptional service encouraged customers to refer others.
• Founders can leverage word-of-mouth and personal outreach to scale in challenging markets.

Opening: When customers are hesitant, building your own product can demonstrate your solution's value. Quote: "

We realized that if we wanted to sell software into the energy sector, we first all had to build an energy company to demonstrate just what a digital energy company could do.

" Takeaway:

• Greg Jackson built Octopus Energy to showcase Kraken, their software platform.
• By demonstrating success with their own company, they proved the value to potential clients.
• Founders can find product-market fit by using their own products as proof of concept.

Opening: Encouraging a culture where failure is accepted can accelerate innovation and growth. Quote: "

If you're gonna innovate, some stuff's gonna fail, yep, so it's actually be very grown up about that and giving people space to do it.

" Takeaway:

• Greg Jackson built a culture at Octopus Energy that allows for failure, enabling rapid innovation.
• By accepting that some initiatives will fail, teams can experiment and scale faster.
• Founders should create an environment where team members feel safe to take risks.