Essays on building, investing, and the things Errol Damelin has learned along the way. Founder of Dust Road Ventures.https://erroldamelin.com/en-gbhttps://erroldamelin.com/writing/why-i-invest-on-dust-roads/https://erroldamelin.com/writing/why-i-invest-on-dust-roads/There is a moment in every investment decision when you know less than you would like to and more than you can afford to ignore. The pitch is thin, the financials are a sketch, but something about the founder tells you the road has already started. That moment is the dust road.Wed, 06 May 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://erroldamelin.com/writing/what-wonga-taught-me-about-conviction/https://erroldamelin.com/writing/what-wonga-taught-me-about-conviction/By every external measure, the business was a triumph. Inside the boardroom, the conviction had fractured. The lesson stayed with me and now sits behind every cheque I write.Wed, 22 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://erroldamelin.com/writing/the-long-distance-between-insight-and-consensus/https://erroldamelin.com/writing/the-long-distance-between-insight-and-consensus/The best opportunities tend to emerge in sectors where the gap between genuine insight and market consensus is widest. Most of investing — and most of building — lives in that gap.Wed, 18 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://erroldamelin.com/writing/on-building-when-the-world-is-burning/https://erroldamelin.com/writing/on-building-when-the-world-is-burning/Wonga's beta processed its first loan in 2007. By the time it launched to the market a year later, Lehman had fallen. By every external measure of macro confidence, this was the moment to retrench. We did the opposite, and the decision shaped the company for the next decade.Thu, 12 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT