One of my big ambitions for Copilot Capital was to show that a better managed, 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦- 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞-𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐦 could outperform the traditional model. I studied anthropology at university, so I’ve always been interested in how people work and interact. When I moved from consulting into finance ten years ago, I was surprised that the sector doesn’t manage or support its people better.

The finance sector is full of highly intelligent, motivated people. But all too often, 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐨𝐧𝐮𝐬.

I saw junior team members struggling to access clear career guidance. And managers avoiding difficult performance conversations, even when these could have benefited the company and the individual.

It was easier just to say everything via the bonus.

High pay means people work hard over long hours, but this culture breeds inefficiency, poor management, and burnout. It's a huge waste of talent and potential.When I founded Copilot, I wanted to take a different approach, building a culture that gets results 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭, grows stronger the more time our team spends together and that is more supportive of real life, by:

✅ 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐩𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐤𝐬

✅ 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞-𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞-𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭: We don’t track holidays. We flex when it matters.

✅ 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐠𝐨𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 for employees, using OKRs to set measurable targets

✅ 𝐑𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐥𝐲 𝟏:𝟏𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐬—for everyone, including me (my 2024 feedback was 10 pages)

✅ 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐞𝐬' 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 (like childcare)

Building a people-first culture not only helps us attract people and investors but also translates into better outcomes for our portfolio companies. It creates a 𝐟𝐥𝐲𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭: staff are motivated to work hard, stay long-term, find the best deals and create more value across our portfolio, leading to better outcomes for everyone.

You don’t need to be an anthropologist to see that it’s a better way to run a business that people actually want to be part of – and stay with for the long-term.

𝐈𝐟, 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐞, 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐚 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐈'𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭.