A Growth Engine for Europe

Things started for Octo when the Dutch Heat Act came into force. The new law ensures that consumers with district heat, block central heating and thermal storage systems don’t overpay. This puts suppliers under an obligation to ensure transparent billing. Octo have developed software to record consumption and feed-in through power generation. They also analyse data, so that they can advise both suppliers and consumers. The development of the company gathered momentum when it started to use Google Technologies. Dirk Huibers, one of the three founders, says: “When we talk to potential customers, we often mention that we use Google and Launchpad Monitoring. This helps enormously. As a start-up, working with Google is an absolute must.” At first their services were mainly aimed at property owners and housing associations. Now, thanks to Launchpad, Octo are also targeting end-users. “We want to be some kind of Netflix for the user,” says Huibers, “with the energy supply based on preferences. We always think big. Ultimately, we want to enable everyone in the world to have a home that is healthy and sustainable.” Moreover, Launchpad helped Octo with the complete restructuring of this process, and so Huibers says: “We are more flexible than ever before now. Strategic decisions can be made within two weeks rather than two months.”