The Serial Scaler

In recent years, David who is now 31, has founded three very different business ventures, each of which are at different points of growth, but each of which show huge promise, even at an early stage. 

David’s belief has been that for any business to succeed and then thrive, it needs to pull its own weight and be sustainable, by paying for itself. 

He founded TechRound, now one of the UK’s fastest growing startup publications and platforms in 2016 and says: “I know this may sound like a typical startup cliché, but a business is like a house; you need to build the foundations before anything. Then you build the necessary structures to support everything else, then you ensure everything functions correctly and then you can scale and extend the property or in this case the business.” 

Now boasting just shy of half a million readers per month, TechRound is one of the UK’s eminent brands in startups and all things tech and innovation. The site has featured companies like TikTok, Curve and YuLife, well before they have hit their current lofty heights and with TechRound, David and his team have been growing a real gem.  

On TechRound’s origins, David comments: “I started TechRound in 2016 when I realised that there were a few very large publications that were always featuring the Ubers and Deliveroos of startups. Amazing as those companies are, there are countless other startups throughout the UK alone, that are incredible and which are doing amazing things. At TechRound, we always make a point of telling people that funding alone is not a measure of success, it is simply a rung on the ladder, helping you climb to success. Having owned and run an SEO agency for many years now, I have has exposure to so many startups that I have helped grow and TechRound is testament to that.” 

TechRound went from around 4,000 readers per month in 2019 to boasting more than 200,000 readers per month in under three years, and now almost doubling that number when their awards listings are published, which has demonstrated incredible growth in stature and audience. 

“I know this may sound like a typical startup cliché, but a business is like a house; you need to build the foundations before anything. Then you build the necessary structures to support everything else, then you ensure everything functions correctly and then you can scale and extend the property or in this case the business.” 

Interestingly, although David has a wealth of experience in SEO, digital marketing and startups, he also holds a BSc degree in Biomedical Science. “I was going to go into medicine, as it’s something I retain a real passion for. However, life has a funny way of working out and I ended up going into SEO and digital marketing, working for a few startups before founding my own companies to offer better services to clients and startups.” 

It is this passion for medicine and the knowledge he retains in medical research that then led David to co-found GlobMed in 2020. As the COVID-19 pandemic was taking hold of much of the world, David and his co-founder realised that people were struggling to access the healthcare they needed for all medical conditions including cancer, fertility, orthopaedics, dental and much more.  

David then set out to grow GlobMed over the last few years and the company has an established network of more than 5,000 doctors and healthcare providers in the UK and across Europe, with a presence in five countries: The UK, Spain, Italy, Turkey and South Africa.  

As David puts it: “As the COVID-19 pandemic hit, I saw countless businesses going under and suffering. This was as a result of both economic factors as well as peoples’ health and the focus everyone had on their health and that of their nearest and dearest. We set up GlobMed to give people access to private healthcare, where it is done best. For example, in the case of fertility treatment, two of the clinics we have are in Spain and Greece. For some people who may have struggled to conceive in the UK, these clinics provide them with world leading treatments that have given the gift of life and a family to people who would otherwise have never had that. What we’re doing with GlobMed is so exciting, as we’re opening up private healthcare to those who truly need it with an ever-growing network of healthcare providers, surgeons and doctors. We truly open up access to private healthcare for those without insurance too, who traditionally couldn’t access it.” 

Utilising his passion for startups and problem solving with his passion for connecting people to solve problems, in 2022, David went on to co-found MakeNews. 

MakeNews is a mobile app (soon to also be a web app and online platform) that connects journalists, PR professionals, citizen journalists and members of the public to generate authentic news stories.  

“TechRound has demonstrated how much is out there but how messy it all is. Every time I refresh my inbox, as founder and editor-in-chief of TechRound I have countless emails with pitches and story ideas. Some of these are fantastic, but with all the noise in my inbox, it can be hard to manage this all. MakeNews is a fantastic venture and is a true problem solver. My co-founders are experts in PR, data science, customer behaviour and the media industry and that, along with my experience in SEO and media through TechRound and the digital marketing side of things has allowed me to provide a unique understanding of this space from a truly unique perspective.” 

 MakeNews solves a recurring problem: how can PR professionals and other pitching stories to journalists reach the right journalists and how can journalists ensure they receive only the most relevant and authentic stories and pitches for their purposes? 

“Once we solve this problem, the media industry will be so streamlined that efficiency and productivity of all involved will skyrocket! Imagine if as a journalist you saved 20% of your time otherwise spent reading through sometimes irrelevant pitches. It will be transformative for the industry and I can’t wait.” 

David at 31 also shows no signs of stopping. When asked what the next stage of his journey is he wryly responds: “Taking TechRound, GlobMed, MakeNews and few other nuggets to the next level – why would I slow down now…I’m just getting started.”