A serial and successful entrepreneur before Octopus Energy, Gregs experience spans mirror manufacturing, coffee shops and multiple software ventures. The customer accounts will be migrated onto Kraken from 2023, increasing the number of energy accounts contracted to be served via Kraken to over 20million worldwide. Jackson explains need for market reform to move to renewable energy sooner. Tellingly, before the age of 30, he had owned and/or managed a number of small businesses employing 4-60 people and turning over 400k to 4m. He says it took years to find the 10m he needed to launch Octopus. Greg: No country is off limits to Octopus Energy, we aim to bring cheaper, greener energy and world-class customer service to many people all over the world. She has done this all while maintaining some of the very best customer service ratings in the industry. Rachel joined Octopus Energy in 2021, bringing with her a wealth of knowledge following more than two decades of experience in energy regulation. Clem led Octopus Energys campaign for an energy price cap and has worked closely with government to help drive policy for the decarbonisation of heat and support the transition to a more renewable grid. James is an e-commerce specialist who was the brains behind a number of high profile tech platforms for clients such as the UK Labour Party, Citroen and Hermes, among others. To be the first to hear about our events, get immediate access to new podcast episodes, and hear news picked just for you Join our community! Origin invested a further $50m at the same time, to maintain its 20% stake. Gregory Jackson is an American mixed martial arts trainer who co-owns Jackson Wink MMA Academy in Albuquerque, New Mexico, widely considered one of the top MMA training centers in the world. Theres some blokes with phones, and what theyve always done is phoned up coal and gas power stations and told them to turn on and off. [3][4][5][6] Jackson has trained many successful fighters, including former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones, former UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre, former UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion Holly Holm, former Light Heavyweight Champion Rashad Evans, and a roster of other UFC contenders and World Extreme Cagefighting champions. She spent some time consulting for a FTSE 100 energy company, followed by a secondment to the Department for the Energy & Climate Change (DECC), and then launching market-leading connected home products - starting at British start-up Alert Me, who became part of the leading smart home provider Hive, a British Gas innovation. Octopus boss Greg Jackson claims the energy giant has 'never made a profit' on Martin Lewis money show. Rebecca holds a Bachelor's degree from Nottingham University Business School. Elsewhere, a vast screen displays the progress of Plots for Kilowatts, a scheme that matches areas where residents have said theyll put up with an onshore windfarm in return for lower bills with areas where landowners are keen to host one. A lot of people have different views of what it means to be an entrepreneur and if this is different from being a businessman or woman. Building on the award winning end-to-end entech platform, Kraken Utilities will create customer centricity and automated, scalable and efficient operations for other traditionally low-tech sectors, allowing innovation at pace. With the pandemic, we took the 15 years it usually takes to make a vaccine, and did it in less than a year. [59] It was first licensed by UK rival Good Energy in late 2019, for an initial three-year term, to manage its 300,000 customers. Three Co-op brands were affected: Octopus acquired the customers of the GB Energy and Flow Energy brands, and began to operate the accounts of Co-op Energy customers on a white label basis, while Midcounties retained responsibility for acquiring new Co-op Energy customers. Octopus Energy is one of the fastest growing energy firms to ever launch in Britain and is on track to join the Big Six utility providers. KrakenFlex is currently contracted to manage over 1,600 MW of power with further 2 GWs of renewable generation to come online through 2022. Do you have any influences that have inspired your entrepreneurial journey and how? The division is also behind Octopus Energys Fan Club, a local energy tariff that provides cheaper energy when the wind blows. Im just gobsmacked anyones opposing this., Does being a flag-bearer for green energy get him in hot water at dinner parties? And I'll let you know if we want your ads. Since our interview, Octopus has rejoined the race, submitting a last-minute bid. [16][17], In January 2020, ENGIE UK announced that it was selling its residential energy supply business (comprising around 70,000 UK residential customers) to Octopus. Europe is going to go into this winter with more gas storage than last year, but if Russia stops sending gas to Europe, prices will skyrocket.. Rumours are that he may be training Zack "The Assassin" Stiles, 16 year old, in the future. As 31 energy firms went bust since the start of last year, public ire has been directed at the bosses of failed challengers. We'll cover a range of topics, including asking Greg what 2023 holds for the tech and energy sector at this challenging time, and which technologies he thinks are going to make a difference to the sector in the future. Our last question before ending this interview is around environmentally sustainable businesses and their impact on climate change. Greg is an experienced digital entrepreneur, passionate about using technology to make positive change. As a result, he was suspended from school for instigating fights on more than one occasion. What is the secret behind the growth and success of Octopus Energy? [21], The same month saw Octopus launch the not-for-profit Octopus Centre for Net Zero (OCNZ), a research organisation tasked with creating models and policy recommendations for potential paths to a green energy future. We need to work like that now on the clean energy system., [See also: The power trap: Why the energy crisis is a crisis of politics], This article appears in the 13 Oct 2021 issue of the New Statesman, Perfect Storm. Interview with Entrepreneur - Greg Jackson - CEO of Octopus Energy. It has enabled us to lower our costs to serve up to 75% compared to some of our competitors Thanks to Kraken, we are able to scale our customer service team quickly to take on new customers and keep them happy. Hes founded a number of successful businesses, including e-commerce company C360, and is an angel investor in a wide range of tech start-ups. The contemporary Jackson-Wink MMA Academy won the same award in 2015.[9]. As of September 2021 the company has over three million domestic and business customers, making it the fourth largest energy supplier [29], In September 2019 Octopus acquired German start-up 4hundred for 15m; the acquisition of 4hundred, which had 11,000 customers, was Octopus' first overseas expansion. Spaces are limited for this very special event so make sure you dont miss out by signing up here. [52], Also in November 2021, Octopus Energy Group signed a deal with Elia Group at COP26 to build a "smart" green grid across Belgium and Germany. Diversity is extremely important during our hiring process, and we anonymise CVs so that we can hire for the people behind the name and profile. Its technology platform Kraken also achieves dramatically lower cost to serve than rivals, so cheaper, green power is delivered hand in hand with unbeaten customer satisfaction levels. [49], In January 2021, Octopus acquired two 73 metre (240') wind turbines to power their 'Fan Club' tariff, which offers households living near its turbines cheaper electricity prices when the wind is blowing strongly. Prior to that Stuart spent 6 years with Barclays Bank, including a stint running a 5bn credit card business and 10 years as a strategy consultant. [62][63] The Kraken software was also licensed to Australia's Origin Energy as part of their May 2020 agreement. [15] In January 2021, Octopus was ranked second and was one of two recommended providers, becoming the only energy provider in the UK to have been named as a recommended provider four years running. He's founded a number of successful businesses, including e-commerce company C360, built HomeServe's innovation business and is an angel investor in a wide range of tech start-ups. Greg is an experienced digital entrepreneur, passionate about making the green energy revolution affordable through technology. In 2019, Octopus stated that all its electricity came from renewable sources, and began to offer a "green" gas tariff with carbon offsetting. Support 100 years of independent journalism. We have an aim to reach over 100 million customers by 2027, whether thats via other companies licensing Kraken or customers joining Octopus Energy, so we never say never for any country or continent, even if we dont have any plans to at the moment. We want a similar effort to the vaccine rollout, says Jackson, sweeping bags of Frazzles aside. Greg Jackson is the founder and CEO of Octopus Energy Group, the energy technology group with 3.5 million customers globally, operations in 14 countries and a 4.4bn portfolio of renewable energy assets. More recently in my work history Ive specialised in creating technology & ecommerce platforms, something me and Octopus Energy CTO James Eddison did together for clients such as Greene King and SAP. As of September 2022, more than 450 charging companies were taking part, allowing customers access to over 300,000 chargers in over 50 countries through a single card and/or app. We need to learn from the pandemic, Jackson says. Greg: When I meet all of our new starters - which I always make sure to do during introductory training - the ones that stand out to me are the ones that ask themselves what they can do for the company, rather than what the company can do for them, they look at their own skills and wants, see what they can bring to the table and do their best. You can meet Greg Jackson and hear more about where he got where he is today at My Entrepreneurial Journey with Greg Jackson on Thursday, 21 November. Whos Here Stuart Jackson is the Co-Founder and Chief Financial Officer of Octopus Energy. Jackson reaffirmed that Octopus had not boycotted the channel. Both investors back businesses that drive sustainability, promote green energy and tackle climate change. You need to ask yourself these questions when defining your success. His old gym, Greg Jackson Fighting Systems won the Gym of the Year award in 2009. There is growing evidence that diverse workforces are more productive than non-diverse workforces. As a company we are completely digital, so we asked everybody to take their laptops home on Friday, and when lockdown was announced on Monday, our team just plugged the headsets into their laptops and continued working as usual. As of September 2021 the company has over three million domestic and business customers, making it the fourth largest energy supplier in the UK.[2]. [12], Besides the Octopus Energy brand, as of September2021[update] customers are supplied under the Ebico Energy, Affect Energy, Co-op Energy, M&S Energy and London Power brands. We are doing the same thing in clean, green energy. . Octopus are on a mission to bring cheaper, greener power to all. We are also able to license out Kraken to other energy companies, allowing them to make use of the same efficiencies. Aside from that, every experience has helped in some way or another, and been a vital lesson to learn to get me where I am today. Everyone wants to talk about the transition fuel maybe a 20 per cent hydrogen mix in our gas supplies, that kind of thing Even if the hydrogen was zero-carbon which, by the way, the creation of hydrogen so far in the UK at scale is definitely not it would only reduce the carbon emissions of gas by 6-8 per cent because of the lower energy density, [and] it would put bills up dramatically, because hydrogen is a lot more expensive. Update your browser for a better web experience, here and all over the internet. Were in a double crisis now: a cost crisis, and a carbon crisis. Octopuss youthful workforce is poring over energy consumption charts and enthusing about that bespoke tech, called Kraken, which will now be licensed to other utility companies. Our team is made up of climate enthusiasts who know that switching people to green energy and growing that customer base around the world is the number one thing we can do to turn the tide on climate change. And I genuinely hope they all go on to great things, even if thats not necessarily at Octopus Energy. Greg: The desire for their colleagues to be happy and successful. Headquartered in London, the company has operations in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and the United States. Sign up to receive information regarding NS events, subscription offers & product updates. Greg: While we cant change who our founders are, our leadership team is made up of 50% women, with BAME, LGBT+ and working class representation throughout. Octopus Energy is a green energy company and one of the leaders when it comes to environmentally sustainable practices. 464 views May 4, 2022 Greg Jackson is the founder and chief executive of Octopus Energy, one of the UK's fastest-growing energy companies. [31] This meant Octopus gained "unicorn" status, as a startup company with a value in excess of 1 billion. Greg: If I could change anything I would have trusted myself more, as I could have started Octopus Energy five years earlier than I did! [9], In 2018 Hanwha Energy Retail Australia (Nectr) chose the Kraken platform, developed by Octopus to provide billing, CRM and other technology services to support its launch into the Australian retail energy market. It was founded in 2015 with the backing of British fund management company Octopus Group, a British asset management company. It was the companys third major investment round since launching to the market. In your view what does it mean to be an entrepreneur and are all entrepreneurs businessmen or women? In regards to your global expansion plans, Octopus Energy is currently located in three continents, do you have any plans of expanding into Africa or acquiring any green energy businesses in Africa? [7] In 2007, Jackson teamed up with striking coach Mike Winkeljohn, which was a seminal moment for Jackson's academy; since then, the gym has been known as Jackson Wink MMA Academy (JW MMA Academy),[8] representing the partnership between Jackson and Winkeljohn. Octopus Energy for Business works with companies to provide future-proof energy services, supplying them with 100% renewable and fairly priced power. He spends around an hour each day dealing directly with customers to understand that experience better, along with discussing trade-offs such as pricing strategy and infrastructure. About Greg Jackson: Greg is an experienced digital entrepreneur, passionate about making the green energy revolution affordable through technology. [18] The same month saw the launch of London Power, a partnership with the Mayor of London. A relaxed evening talking with Greg Jackson, the founder and Phil Steele Future Technology Evangelist of Octopus Energy.You can email the Octopus team as ref. 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