Simon’s story

“The first thing I tell other businesses about Grit is…” says Octopus Investments CEO, Simon Rogerson, “Get involved! Just go and see it. It is a genuinely brilliant experience – eye-opening on loads of levels and as powerful for professionals as it is for the young people.” 

“Charities are like start-ups,” Simon continues. And he should know. Together with his business partner, Chris Hulatt, over the last 20 years he has built one of the fastest growing companies in the UK, one that invests billions for its thousands of customers. “With Grit we’ve been able to help with finance, strategy, HR … a whole host of things.”

From the off, Grit and Octopus really clicked. Simon is proud of how all Octopus staff embody the values so important to the business - bold, helpful, straightforward – and he soon saw in Grit that very same authenticity, how the values and actions of everybody at Grit embody the work it does.

“After the values,” he says, “it is the people who are most important.”  In Grit “I see the passion, the commitment, a can-do mindset coupled with huge expertise. And this is critical for us at Octopus.  We’ve got around 1000 members of staff with a massive range of skills so we want to support charities where our money AND our expertise can make a real difference.”

Over the last five years Octopus have co-funded a programme in Hackney, organised staff fundraisers for Grit and provided work experience opportunities for young people on Grit programmes. They have donated practical support with the Grit website, thinking around strategy, expertise in the production of marketing materials and working through GDPR, pro bono support to implement a new customer relationship management software and other IT systems, and free meeting rooms at their offices in Holborn.

Grit is more than just a paragraph in the CSR report. As Simon himself says, “Those of us who have experienced Grit have changed as people. Thanks to Grit I am a different person. I’ve confronted things that I’ve been struggling with all my life.” He talks about how, throughout the business, staff relate to each other more productively. Colleagues are more relaxed in their own skins, more ready to step up to the plate and lead. “And, inspired by the work with Grit, we’ve developed a package of personal support for staff and their families.”

“This is a great partnership that really reflects who we are at Octopus. It works for us, and I know it works for Grit.”