Why divorce was harder than building a business with Simon Rogerson

In this episode, Kate is joined by Simon Rogerson, founder of Octopus Group, to learn more about his divorce story.

Why divorce was harder than building a business with Simon Rogerson

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Why divorce was harder than building a business

This episode begins with Simon sharing his separation story. He candidly explains why he felt his divorce was more stressful than building a business. He and Kate also discuss how friends' and colleagues' reactions to Simon's divorce weren’t always helpful and why ‘staying together for the kids’ might actually do more harm than good. They finish by exploring why the current legal system is broken, gender-biased and can lead to catastrophic consequences for divorcing couples.

Trigger warning: this episode covers content that some listeners might find distressing, including poor mental health and suicide.

What we cover:

• Simon’s divorce story
• How reactions from friends and colleagues aren't always helpful
• Reducing the stigma and shame around divorce
• Why staying together for the kids might do more harm than good
• How the current legal system is broken

Simon Rogerson, founder of Octopus Group

Simon is the founder and Chief Executive of Octopus Group. Octopus, set up in 2000, employs more than 12,000 people across its financial services, energy and education businesses.

Its energy transition business (Octopus Energy) is disrupting a £2 trillion industry by using technology to make the green revolution faster and cheaper for tens of millions of customers. Since establishment in 2015 it has grown to more than ten million customers across twelve countries, raising more than £2 billion in funding from some of the world’s leading investors. Its technology platform, Kraken, now powers some of the world’s leading energy companies, looking after more than 65 million customer accounts.#

Its financial services business includes Octopus Investments, Octopus Money, Seccl, Octopus Legacy and amicable. Its investment business manages £10 billion, specialising in venture capital, smaller companies and real estate investing. Its education business, Aurora, operates 21 special needs schools across the UK.

Prior to setting up Octopus, Simon was on the graduate training programme at Mercury Asset Management (now part of Blackrock). He is a Chartered Financial Analyst and graduated with a first class MA from St Andrews University.

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