David Nicholas Williams
I turn ideas into products

David Nicholas Williams - CV

davnicwil.com | davnicwil at gmail.com
  • 15 years in startups getting product, team and business from zero to one.
  • Including startups with top tier investors (Y Combinator, a16z).
  • Built & led many early stage Engineering teams.
  • Proven track record in hiring, onboarding & managing people, structuring teams, building community and culture.
  • Have built several commercially successful products from scratch.
  • Strong academic background in Computer Science & AI.

Education

MSc Computer Science. AI focus.
2010
University of Durham, UK
BSc Computer Science. 1st Class.
2009
University of Durham, UK
Accolades: Won AI prize for best AI grade in my graduating class

Experience

Staff Software Engineer
Abatable (YC S22)
Aug 2023 - current

Climate startup backed by YC. Our products help companies buy carbon credits to offset their emissions.

My focus has been delivering a suite of data products to market rapidly - the business' key strategic bet for growth.

We booked revenue less than 3 months from writing the first line of code, and continue to add value in a tight loop with customer feedback to grow from there.

Sabbatical

6 months travelling in Mexico and Colombia.

Spent a lot of time exploring and learning AI tools for Software Engineering.

Engineering Manager
Stacker (YC S20, a16z Series A)
Oct 2020 - Dec 20222 years, 3 months

No-code startup backed by YC & a16z. Employee #10, joined at seed stage. Now $20MM Series A.

I joined as an early Engineer and helped hire & grow the Engineering org to 20 people, eventually transitioning to manage 12 Engineers across 4 teams.

Worked with the CTO on strategic planning for the Engineering org: including hiring, team structure, Engineering culture.

Consultant
Independent
May 2019 - Oct 20201 year, 6 months

Independent consultant, helping clients build & launch products & deliver immediate tactical impact.

Highlights of projects I delivered

  • Transformed a Cambridge-based startup's early prototype to a solid product architecture in prep for their series A.
  • Helped a big Pharma company deliver a marketing app for a conference.
  • Advised a startup's Engineering team on web security.
Founding Product Tech Lead
Kynd, London
Mar 2018 - Apr 20191 year, 2 months

Cybersecurity startup. 1st employee, recruited by the founders. Now $5MM series A, 60 employees, presence in UK and US markets.

Built the early product from zero, first customer sale booked in 9 months, grew revenue significantly further from there.

Hired & grew the early Product Engineering teams in London and Porto, Portugal.

Product Tech Lead
HeyJobs, Berlin
Aug 2016 - Feb 20181 year, 7 months

Recruitment startup. Employee #20. Now $47MM Series B, 600+ employees, is a top recruitment platform in Germany and expanding across Europe.

Built the product from a prototype with no customers to a platform that had placed 1 million hires by the time I left, while hiring and leading the early Product Engineering team.

Senior Software Engineer
Foodpanda, Berlin
Mar 2016 - Aug 20166 months

Food delivery startup with major market share in Asia. Later acquired by Delivery Hero.

I was brought into a small team, working closely with the C-suite, to build AI delivery logistics tools to improve operational efficiency and get food to customers faster.

We were truly full stack, including going to the Hong Kong operations office to launch and test the tools on the ground with the team there.

Sabbatical

Lived in Bogotá, Colombia for a year.

Took Spanish classes at Javeriana University. Travelled extensively in Colombia.

Team Lead << Software Engineer
Gamesys, London
Aug 2012 - Feb 20152 years, 8 months

Gaming startup. Later acquired by JPJ Group for $500MM.

I worked on established products with millions of DAUs in the UK, and developed new products to expand the business into US and European markets.

I joined as an Engineer and was promoted to Team Lead after 18 months, leading a team of 6.

Software Engineer
Aqulia Heywood, Manchester
Oct 2010 - Jul 20121 year, 10 months

Fintech products serving large enterprises in the UK, including Shell, AON and the BBC.

I joined the graduate program, and got an introduction to all aspects of Engineering on a mature set of software products where quality and reliability were key.