Riding Unicorns: Venture Capital | Entrepreneurship | Technology
Riding Unicorns is the go-to podcast for anyone interested in venture capital and high-growth startups. Hosted by VCs James Pringle and Hector Mason, the show explores what it takes to build and back successful tech unicorns.
Each episode features candid conversations with top founders, operators, and investors—unpacking the strategies, challenges, and insights behind scaling category-defining companies. From fundraising and product-market fit to hiring, growth, and beyond, no topic is off-limits. Whether you're a founder, VC, angel investor, or just curious about the world of startups, you’ll find valuable takeaways in every episode.
Riding Unicorns: Venture Capital | Entrepreneurship | Technology
Inside SVB's dramatic acquisition and the Future of UK Venture with Erin Platts, CEO of Octopus Ventures
Erin Platts is the CEO of Octopus Ventures and former CEO of Silicon Valley Bank UK & Europe — one of the most pivotal figures in the UK tech ecosystem.
In this conversation, Erin opens up in remarkable detail about her personal journey from two decades inside SVB to leading one of Europe’s most active venture firms. She shares the inside story of the SVB collapse — the all-nighters, the adrenaline, the leadership decisions made under extreme pressure, and what it was really like to shoulder responsibility for thousands of founders, operators and employees during a once-in-a-generation crisis.
We then explore Erin’s new chapter at Octopus Ventures, and how she's shaping a platform that spans pre-seed to growth investing, powered by the unique capital model of the wider Octopus Group. We discuss the future of the UK ecosystem, the evolution of UK capital markets, and what needs to change to ensure the best founders choose to build and list here.
In this episode we dive into:
🔥 The inside view of the SVB implosion — four days, 90 minutes of sleep, and how the team navigated full-blown crisis
🧭 Leadership principles forged through chaos: communication, context and visible leadership
🏦 Why Erin joined Octopus Ventures and how she plans to scale a multi-fund, multi-stage European VC platform
🌍 The capital continuum — and how the UK can close the growth and public-markets gap
⚡ Why founders underestimate their own agency in shaping the future of the ecosystem
🏛️ Erin’s role in the Capital Markets Industry Taskforce and what a healthier UK exit landscape could look like
🏫 Octopus’ growing footprint in education, financial services, and energy, including the rise of Octopus Legacy
This is one of the most candid conversations we’ve recorded — a masterclass in leadership, resilience and building through volatility.
