The show mentions that Gus and Robert first got to know each other during their time as students at the University of Oxford. This is also how co-creators Mickey Down and Konrad Kay first met and became friends, while they were studying at the university's Regent's Park College.
Nia DaCosta did some work in the writer's room on the show, and Konrad Kay said in an interview "she was critical in shaping Harper's voice."
The founders of Pierpoint are called Randolph and Mortimer. The same Randolph and Mortimer from the movie Trading places