Build the machine
I build and operate the machines behind angel investing: Manchester Angels, AngelOS, and a forest of AI agent projects shipped daily. Operator, not observer.
this page is designed to be played with
- Based
- Manchester, UK
- Now
- Building, investing, breaking things
- Mode
- Operator, founder, angel
One operator, many machines, building in public.
This is the machine I run. Press any part to see what it does. Four screws are hidden. Find them all.
oh, you found them. of course you did
That's exactly the curiosity I look for in founders. If you're building something, get in touch. End with p.s. four screws and tell me one thing you'd rebuild about this page.
David
Overview
What this machine is for
I build things. Communities, products, the systems that run them. Manchester Angels started at zero and is now 45 angels, 22 deals, more than £12m of angel money invested and over £50m unlocked in follow-on funding. It's far more a community than a syndicate.
AngelOS.vc is the agentic operating system that runs the whole business, and I'm starting to license it to other angel networks. Beyond that, Hermes, Lovable, Cursor and Claude are nuking forests every day on all manner of projects.
A few of the machines I've built and am building:
the best networks build communities, not dealflow
The operator
Who you'd be working with
Hi, I'm David. CS degree, an MBA, and twenty-plus years on the leading edge of technology: HP, Vodafone, INRIX, then founding and scaling DigitalBridge (now Fixtuur) from idea to a venture-backed international AI company.
Today I run Manchester Angels, build AngelOS, advise founders, and ship code daily across agent harnesses. I'm strongest where strategy has to turn into action: growth plans, sales, fundraising, partnerships, positioning and the practical mess of scaling.
In my first ever career review my manager said I had a natural gift for "explaining complex technical subjects to grannies". That's stayed with me.
Critical parts
Three pillars, one operator
Building part 2
I build daily. AngelOS, agent harnesses, side projects with real users. If a process repeats, I make it a system. If it's slow or broken, I get creative and break it. (I always apologise if it's someone else's thing I've broken.)
Investing part 3
22 deals, £12m+ in, £50m+ unlocked. I work with founders on growth, fundraising, commercial positioning and investor readiness, mostly in AI and deeptech, mostly outside London.
Community part 4
Manchester Angels is a community, not a syndicate. 45 angels, founder dinners, hack days, demo nights. Creating spaces for real connection is core work, not an optional extra.
Outside those pillars: advising founders, sitting on the UK Business Angels Association advisory board, founding team of Silicon Mingle Manchester, and figuring out what to build next.
and if chairs need putting out, I put them out
How I work
Switch on the ones that sound like me
exceptional at some, hungry to learn the rest
My operating principles
How I work is the work
- Service mindset
Founders first, always. I earn the right to do what I do every day by being a great partner.
- Radical candour
Direct, honest feedback, always given with care. Real trust earns you the right to be very honest.
- Less is more
It's not what I want to say, it's what the other person needs to hear. Precision with words matters.
- Ask forgiveness, not permission
Ego doesn't come into it. Get out there, meet people and get things done.
- The best way to learn is to do
Roll sleeves up, get under the hood, break things. Build, then iterate.
- Don't forget to have fun
See the knob on the unit. It only goes up.
What's next
Press a key. Tell me what I should build next.
whichever is winning shows on the unit's display
The paper trail
Specifications, and the CV itself
| Based | Manchester, UK |
|---|---|
| Building since | 2000 |
| Manchester Angels | 45 angels, 22 deals, £12m+ invested, £50m+ unlocked |
| Education | MBA, Manchester Business School (2007). BSc Computer Science, University of Manchester (1999). |
| linkedin.com/in/davidjblevine | |
| davidjblevine@gmail.com |
David Levine — CV
Profile
Scale-up advisor, founder and investor with 20+ years helping technology businesses grow, raise capital and win customers. Built and scaled my own venture-backed AI company, advised 150+ founders, supported 50+ investment transactions and helped mobilise more than £30m of funding. Strongest where strategy has to turn into action.
"A natural gift for explaining complex technical subjects to grannies." — my first career review
Experience
- Advise and invest in high-potential AI, Deeptech and regional technology businesses.
- Supported 50+ transactions, built a network of 500+ VCs, angel groups and family offices, helping facilitate more than £30m of funding.
- Most recently structured and managed a £2.5m seed round for a regional transport platform.
- Founded a software platform to make angel network and syndicate operations simpler and more efficient.
- Built the market strategy, competitive analysis and investment positioning from the ground up.
- Advised 150+ founders through seed and Series A growth: fundraising strategy, pitch, term sheets, commercial strategy.
- Supported Enterprise AI business Versori from YC alumni stage through a $3m seed raise and a 27x ARR exit.
- Designed and delivered the Raise Like a Pro programme with the UK Space Agency.
- Founded and scaled an applied AI software business from idea to international venture-backed company.
- Raised £3m+ in venture capital; won multi-million-pound contracts with Home Depot and Kingfisher/B&Q.
- Tech Nation Applied AI Mission to San Francisco; John Lewis Accelerator.
- Vodafone — Global Head of Connected Car; delivered 120% of revenue quota.
- INRIX — International Business Development Director; pan-European partnerships with BMW and Toyota.
- HP — Led the Office of Strategy and Technology in Europe on behalf of the company CTO.
Education
To be transparent: I much prefer the operating side to the investing side. I'm a consummate networker and getting out, meeting people and learning is part of my day-to-day. If you're a small fund that wants an operator, not just an investor, let's talk.
Voice agents
The biggest area I'm playing around in
Where I'm spending the most time
This is the frontier I keep coming back to. Voice agents that actually hold a conversation, do the thing, and close the loop. Hermes harnesses wiring real-time speech, transcription, and tools together. Agent harnesses that can take a call, not just answer a prompt.
I've got Hermes, Lovable, Cursor and Claude nuking forests every day on this. Demos break. Things get rebuilt. The gap between "impressive demo" and "thing a person uses" is where the real work is, and that's where I'm playing.
Same energy at home: I'm building an annoyingly automated home run by AI. Lights, music, routines, the lot — all agent-controlled. It's part lab, part provocation, and genuinely useful more often than I expected.
Press the coneProof of work
GitHub activity, last 12 months — @unserrer1977
Serial founder and builder. Running an angel investment network across AI, AI infrastructure, and deep tech, building every day.
@unserrer1977
Contribution heat map less more
Languages across all work
Public repositories (8 repos)
- fuse-design-system HTML
- ca-lookbook HTML
- apprenticeship-watcher Python
- whatsmeow Go
- sollo-design-system CSS
- wepsbot Go
- instinct-task-compass TypeScript
- receipts Receipt Upload
Private work is counted in totals only. Updated 27/10/2026.
proof of work beats pedigree every time
Press start
How to get in touch
Let's build something.
A few lines on what you're building, a link or two, and that's it. Founders, operators, small funds — all welcome. No cover letters needed.
Write the email- To
- davidjblevine@gmail.com
- Subject
- Building something
- Why this. Why now. A few lines on you.
Links to the things you've made.
Appendix: file index
The same manual, for people who prefer directories
./davidlevine/ ├── README.md ├── about.md ├── parts/ │ ├── building.txt │ ├── investing.txt │ └── community.txt ├── how-i-work.checklist ├── principles.txt ├── drafts/whats-next.txt ├── cv.pdf ├── linkedin.url ├── spec.sheet ├── voice-agents.txt ├── github.log ├── get-in-touch.eml └── .screws 0 of 4 found
dotfiles are for the curious