Meet Your Team
At OctopusPod, we don’t do corporate cookie-cutter strategies. We’re about getting things done, solving problems, and helping founders scale their businesses with practical solutions that make a real difference.
Meet Our CEO and Founder: Steph Barlow
Hi, I’m Steph Barlow, the CEO (Chief Executive Octopus) and founder of OctopusPod. I’ve been where you are—building, scaling, and solving problems on the fly. That’s why I started OctopusPod: to offer practical, no-nonsense HR strategies for businesses that don’t have time for fluff or bureaucracy.
I bring over a decade of experience in HR leadership, working with startups, high-growth companies, and scrappy teams who know every decision counts. Whether it’s helping founders hire their first leadership team or untangling a complex people challenge, I’m here to get it done.
Our COO: Ellie Zygmunt
Ellie is a strategic cross-functional operations leader (aka Chief Optopus). She has spent the last decade solving scaling challenges and overhauling legacy systems across multiple industries, from startups to higher education to retail. As a former Chief of Staff and Operations Lead, she has worked closely with founders and executives to develop critical operations infrastructure, support fundraising efforts, and establish processes that drive revenue growth.
With Octopus Pod, Ellie is bringing her expertise to founders interested in developing the strategic foresight and practical processes to help their business succeed.
Our CTO: Lars Hedlund
Lars, the Chief Technopus, has driven the technical success of companies at every stage, from early stage startups, to multi-million dollar e-commerce companies and publicly-traded SaaS companies. He is the current cofounder of a of his own small business, and splits his time between being a Fractional CT-Octopus and founder.
With OctopusPod, Lars helps founders and leaders better understand their technical offerings, work with their investment partners, improve their feature planning, and audit their offerings for high customer impact. With over 10 years of development experience, Lars will help you achieve your goals.