How do you establish a US corporate entity? When and why incorporate a US entity? If a non-US company is generating revenue and profit in the...

Many founders underestimate how long it will take to establish operations in the US. When planning, many companies found it crucial to have someone...

Many European brands – even household names – will be unknown to American customers. Your list of European references will carry...

Various European companies have become successful while having only a European investor base   IZettle LoveCrafts Sigfox Actility Prodigy...

Building up and supporting a high functioning team is hard, even when people are working in the same space and come from similar cultures. When...

The UK entrepreneur community is thriving. Talent, ambition, inspiration and sticking-power is coming through more than ever. Investors are more...

The companies we back spend a great deal of their time planning their runway and trying not to run out of cash whilst creating big, exciting...

General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) As we edge ever closer to 25 May 2018 when the GDPR becomes enforceable, we have been spending...

Here at Octopus Ventures we back teams because we believe that the people who make up a company are the greatest factor behind its success. When...

Alex Macpherson, Chairperson of Octopus Ventures, with 30 years experience in Venture Capital; Alexander Asseily, Chairperson of Chiaro Technology...

A continuation of Part 1. 1. Calibration Clarity on the remit and responsibilities of the role is the first thing to get right. Why are you making...

Having worked with more than fifty early stage technology businesses over the past decade, there are some clear lessons learnt which I hope to...

What is due diligence and why do investors make so much noise about it? An entrepreneur pitching for investment is in a sales process. Due diligence,...

Prior to joining Octopus as a Venture Partner, Stephen was the CFO of Zoopla Property Group (ZPG) the UK digital media business. Whilst there...

Why have option schemes? At the beginning of the start-up journey there is probably limited cash in the bank. Yet founders want to attract...

Founders are often aware of the need for a ‘share option scheme’. They may be less familiar with how to actually make one happen (see previous...

You have built a high-quality product or service, you have strong traction at home and you have learned from numerous strategies when building...

The conversations were part of our research into how European-based B2C businesses can expand abroad. The comments weren’t always positive...

How is insurance different in the US? The UK has one of the most established insurance markets in the world, with Lloyds of London arguably...

The importance of IP An e-commerce business, whose strength is largely in its ability to execute sharply with little unique underlying technology,...

Reporting & Payment To pay for a local provider to complete a federal and State tax return can cost from $800 for a “one man band”,...

  US taxation can be roughly divided into:   Sales Tax Sales tax is a pass-through tax similar to VAT in the UK in that a merchant must collect...

Professional Employment Organisations or “PEOs” Professional Employment Organisations, known in the US as “PEOs”, enable businesses...

What is transfer pricing? Transfer pricing is the general term for the pricing of cross‐border, intra‐firm transactions between related...

In the first part of this series on hiring technical talent in the US we shared the insights from our research in to some of the factors that...

If a European company has made the decision to open up operations in the US and believes that going forward its main market will be in the US...

Beyond the basic benefits any US company would provide, there are many and varied ways to attract and maintain the best employees. The diplomacy...

Every year we get thousands of investor decks, both good and bad. Much of the material in a well-produced deck can be used again for sales and...