Errol Damelin is a founder and investor, investing through Dust Road Ventures.
He writes first or second cheques at seed stage in fintech, AI, health-tech, and enterprise software — backing founders with deep domain expertise building technology the market does not yet know it needs.
He grew up in Klerksdorp, a small mining town in South Africa’s North West Province — no traffic lights, no malls, the family home backing onto open bush. Read engineering and business at the University of Cape Town, then a graduate degree at Boston University, before settling in London. The roads of his childhood are the source of the firm’s name and visual identity.
Built three companies — Supply Chain Connect, Wonga, and Tide — before becoming a full-time investor. 75+ investments since 2011. Portfolio includes Wise (pre-revenue), Purplebricks (first investor), HiBob, K Health, Cleo AI, Earnin, Elliptic, Cazoo, Citymapper, YuLife, and Zoe. Named TechCrunch Founder of the Year (2010), Guardian Digital Entrepreneur of the Year, and Ernst & Young UK Entrepreneur of the Year (2011).
Lives in London with a family base in the Kalahari.
“He thinks about start-ups like Zaha Hadid thinks about buildings.”
For the full biographical timeline and writing, see erroldamelin.com.
“One of the most relentlessly creative people I know.”
“A force of nature with incredible strategic vision and yet still such a nice guy.”
Co-investor
Israel-based co-investor focused on early-stage deal evaluation and founder engagement, with a particular interest in marketplace and consumer technology businesses. Studied Business Administration and Entrepreneurship at Reichman University (IDC Herzliya). Brings a founder’s perspective to early-stage investing across the UK and Israel.
