Exchange is a tech start-up support scheme at the Enterprise City cluster in Manchester, which recently welcomed David Levine as its new Entrepreneur in Residence.
To get involved in a future edition of A Week in My Life, please email charlies@prolificnorth.co.uk.
Levine is the founder and former CEO of DigitalBridge, as well as previously holding the role of Global Head – Connected Car at Vodafone. Over the course of his career he’s held a wide range of directorial positions, and is currently an advisor for YourFLOCK and Corner Wearables.
Exchange, where Levine remains on-hand to provide advice and support to entrepreneurs, provides young companies the chance to learn from industry partners and other entrepreneurs, along with funding opportunities and a base at Department Bonded Warehouse.
In September, start-ups including Hazaar, My First Five Years and Umii – which won App of the Year at the 2021 Prolific North Tech Awards – joined Exchange.
We found out how a week in David’s life looks…
Monday
I love Mondays. Mondays mean I can stop feeling guilty about working over the weekend and get on with what is usually a very long to-do list and receive responses about ongoing work from those who are sensible enough to not work over the weekend.
As well as my role supporting start-ups at Enterprise City, I have multiple projects running alongside each other and the only way to effectively deliver on everything is good planning.
Monday is my planning day, so I start by going through my to-do list on Trello, updating what I’m currently working on and what needs to be progressed. I find this an invaluable tool as it supports my workflow across several different streams and allows me to stay on top of everything.
I aim to stick to one or two calls on a Monday to ensure my week is properly planned. A good Monday means a good week, so this is vital.
Tuesday
Tuesday usually sees me meeting with two or three start-ups, either from the Exchange cohort or other groups that I advise. It’s the best day for catching up with those businesses as they have had Monday to get over the weekend lull, meet with their colleagues and plan and set out priorities for the rest of the week.
Entrepreneurs seem to be at their most enthused and excited in Tuesday meetings and are better able to navigate the ups and downs of business than on any other day. The weekends give time and space to think about and internalise the previous week, so plans can be executed in full force at the beginning of the week.
This week I host a mentoring session for the Exchange cohort. We speak about the reality of fundraising here in the North. Investment can be up and down here, so I’m keen to ensure that the start-ups are investment-ready by showing them the types of funding available and types of investors.
They need to be aware about expectations around valuation, dilution, and common pitfalls to avoid if they are ambitious enough to compete on a global stage.
Wednesday
Mid-week is when I give as much time as possible to my own work. I work with a number of ecommerce businesses and do consulting work, as well as work around esports, cryptocurrency and NFTs.
I meet face-to-face with clients to update them on progress made and next steps in addition to one start-up meeting.
In the early stages of a start-up’s journey, our conversations tend to be about fundraising and a lot of my time is spent helping them navigate that maze and get investment-ready. I advise entrepreneurs to be really specific on how much they are raising, what they will use it for, and what milestones it will allow them to achieve.
We have a staggering amount of talent building businesses here in the North West, but bar a few notable exceptions, funding sources in the region can be somewhat lacklustre. A lot of my time is spent working with investors and making introductions between them and start-ups.
One of the issues I find myself dealing with at the moment is legacy investment issues.
Investors occasionally weigh early-stage businesses down with very complex agreements that at best make things really difficult and at worst highly constrain the ability to be successful. Unpicking those and getting as many obstacles as possible out of the way is crucial.
Thursday
Thursday is investment day – either matchmaking between businesses I support and investors, or raising money for those businesses directly.
I spend the most time working with investors that I think can really add value to business in the region. By networking, I can identify the right ones that match the ambition and support requirements of the relevant start-ups.
It’s often a day quite heavy with calls, but at least the weekend isn’t far away!
Friday
Fridays are hectic as everyone is trying to tie up all their loose ends before the weekend. For religious reasons, I can’t do any work, use electronic devices or take calls from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday, so as the days get shorter, so does my availability.
It’s always a bit of a rush to get everything done before sunset.
I try and keep calls to a minimum, but it doesn’t always work out like that. There are usually lots of emails incoming as reports get finalised and submitted. There is the occasional Friday SOS that tends to hit when I don’t have time to deal with it – as is the nature of the entrepreneurial game!
Weekend
Saturday is the most important day of the week for me as I don’t work or use any devices. Instead, I spend time with my family reflecting, praying and engaging in the more spiritual aspects of life.
As an entrepreneur at heart, my brain doesn’t switch off and I tend to have a lot of ideas, which is frustrating as I can’t even write anything down!
Saturdays enable me to attack the rest of my week with energy. I don’t know how I’d manage without it and sometimes wish I could have another Saturday mid-week.
