Octopus Investments pairs venture investing with unusual transparency, publishing its public-affairs approach and stating it made no political-party donations over the past five years, and it backs this up with an in-house People and Talent team and a curated network of about 50 mentors who act as independent, non-board sounding boards for founders. It has also funded overlooked areas like women's health (as with Elvie), draws on investors from varied backgrounds such as doctors and PhDs, and serves both founders and adviser-led retail investors through a five-step process where it explains its reasoning even when it decides not to invest.