This month, we celebrate both International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month – a time when we turn our attention to the professional, cultural and political achievements of women. It seems only fitting, then, to sit down with Ruth Handcock, Chair of Seccl and Octopus Moneycoach and CEO of Octopus Investments, to find out more about her motivations, her career to date and her predictions for the future of Seccl and Octopus.
Ruth has had a long and varied career. In fact, as her bio on the Octopus website states, she’s had ‘fourteen jobs: newspaper deliverer, car washer, checkout operative, factory salad chopper (night shift), receptionist, lab technician, editor, consultant, government adviser, COO, finance director, chief of staff, head of customer and CEO.’
She is passionate about reducing the stress that many people feel managing their finances, as well as harnessing the technology that helps people better access financial services and financial advice.
Hi Ruth. First of all, for those who aren’t so familiar with your story, it’d be great just to kick off with a bit of an intro. Are you able to talk us through your career journey to date?
Absolutely. As you probably know, my role at Seccl is Chair – but for most of my life I didn’t even know what a Chair did…
I grew up in Lincoln, and my first job was washing cars when I was 13. I earned £1 per car (inside and out) which in hindsight was a bit of a rip-off!
I suppose after that, my first “proper” job was editing a science journal after completing my science degree. After a few years as a consultant, I then applied for a job in Sierra Leone to help the government build capacity in the years post-conflict. It was without doubt the most formative point in my career.
I then went into finance and started a bank called Tandem. We secured only the second new retail banking license in 100 years I’m immensely proud of the work we did there.
I am now the Chair of Seccl and Octopus Moneycoach, as well as running Octopus Investments day-to-day. I spend a lot of time thinking about how to build an ecosystem of businesses that help people to reduce the stress they feel in managing their finances. Software needs to underpin this vision and I feel proud that a company as innovative as Seccl is part of the Octopus Group.
You’ve had a very varied career! If you could encourage your kids to pursue a particular field, what would it be?
If I was graduating now, I’d probably switch from underpinning my career with finance to underpinning it with knowing how to write code. However, when I asked my daughter what she wants to be when she grows up, she said a fairy…so much for trying to avoid gender stereotypes!
What motivates you, and where do you see yourself in 10 years’ time?
I’ve had a slightly eclectic career. I tend to get motivated by fast-moving environments that are focused on mission as well as entrepreneurial people and places. I’m happiest when I’m a bit scared – I like finding order in chaos.
As for my career in 10 years’ time, I don’t have a clue. I would be amazed if it wasn’t involved in helping a company grow in some way. So long as I feel a bit scared and I can look back at a year and point to some meaningful change, I’ll be happy.
Moving onto Seccl, what are you most excited about for Seccl in the next 12 months?
There comes a point in business where you go from startup to scaleup, and clearly this is where Seccl is now – which is hugely exciting. It means you’ve proven market fit and are ready to start onboarding significant volumes. This is a huge testament to the masses of hard work that’s gone on to date.
More generally, I genuinely think that Seccl has a unique opportunity to transform our market for the better. We have a chance to make investing easier, more affordable and more accessible than ever, by building technology that’s used by millions of people.
And what do you think we’ve got wrong so far?
Loads of stuff – and that’s good because if you’re not getting stuff wrong, you’re probably not moving or learning quickly enough. But the times I look back at as the hardest are normally those when communication hasn’t been clear enough and conversations haven’t happened. A particular challenge when scaling a company during a national lockdown.
What do you see happening in financial services over the next few years?
Coming into the investment world four years ago from retail banking was a bit of a shock, as banking is a few years ahead in thinking through customer journeys. I’ve seen a lot of change since that point – some of which is powered by Seccl – but there’s still a lot of experimentation to be done to help lots of types of people make the most of their money.
When it comes to Octopus and Seccl, we’re creating an ecosystem that helps to solve the same problems but in different ways. Octopus Investments provides people with solutions that tackle real and sometimes quite tricky problems though financial products, while Seccl powers the technology for new fintechs and innovative advice firms. Octopus Moneycoach also provides coaching for individuals to help them build financial plans and meet their money and life goals.
What is Octopus doing to help further diversity?
We have a few goals. I’d like to see more women in senior positions, I’d like more neurodiversity across all roles, and I want to make sure everyone who works in any part of the Group continues to feel that they can be their true self at work.
There are brilliant initiatives all over the Group, from an equal parental leave policy for all parents, to gender balanced shortlists and interviews for roles, to dedicated apprenticeship, graduate and accelerator programmes that actively seek applicants from diverse backgrounds.
Perhaps most powerfully, there are multiple examples of initiatives that create a safe environment for people to share their stories – from panel discussions to blog series, to coaching sessions.
Lastly, do you have any advice for women in tech and financial services?
My main advice is to be yourself. I’ve not sought to change the way I am at all, and I don’t think you have to in order to succeed as a woman in tech or financial services.
The biggest point of divergence in career paths I’ve observed is when children come into the family. It’s a big deal for men and women – and I guess my advice is, don’t convince yourself or allow others to convince you that there’s only one option there just because you’re a woman. There is no right answer – all you can do is make the right decision for yourself and be unapologetic about it.
If you want to hear more from Ruth, tune into our recent panel discussion, where Ruth is joined by other distinguished leaders from the industry to discuss whether fintech is currently failing women, and what can be done to address the gender investing gap.