David Edmonston
Hello, I'm Dave and I've been instrumental in creating a number of famous motoring websites.
About
It all started with a ZX81.
I started programming at the age of twelve and this opened up a career that has zigged and zagged
into a fabulous adventure.
Coding isn't just sitting in a dark room...
It was 1998 when I combined my love of cars and technology to create PISTONHEADS.COM. What started out as a broadcast only online magazine, morphed into a thriving community, events and ultimately a highly successful car sales platform.
I've enjoyed some other wins along the way, most notably architecting COLLECTINGCARS.COM and whilst I'm still pursuing that and other ventures, I also love to help others get their digital businesses established.
Experience
I invested in CC in 2019, excited by how it removed the stress of selling collectable cars. I got stuck right in and created the robust architecture that forms the underlying tech to this day (we've now sold over $1B worth of cars!).
Founder
MotorMutt.com
2011 — 2016
I created a "Multi-Niche" car sales platform that was used by Evo Magazine, Octane Magazine, Land Rover Monthly and AutoClassics.com.
My 'online car magazine' became one of the world's most successful online car communities.
I exited in 2007 with a sale to Haymarket Publishing.
Early Career
1987 — 1999
I worked for a number of software houses and consultancies, before entering the financial sector, designing systems for Fidelity Investments and Lehman Brothers.
What I Do Now
I've created a nationwide network of super experienced advanced driving instructors. We deliver advanced Roadcraft coaching to new drivers, performance car owners and small businesses.
Co-director and board advisor at TCG (Collecting Cars & Watch Collecting).
Software Development
I'm still a very active software nerd, embracing modern frameworks and keeping abreast of AI.
There are always a few side projects bubbling away...
Advisor
I work with a startups in the car/tech space advising on technology, marketing and strategy.
This I love the most. I really enjoy working with smart people trying to do exciting things.
Facilitator
Paying it forward - helping a small community of bootstrapped startups.
Stuff I Know About
Systems Architecture
I've scaled two platforms from zero to hundreds of thousands of users. It's not always been pretty, but I learned a lot!
APIs, App development, Amazon Web Services, security, resilience... they've given me grey hairs over the years, but I'm happy to share my experiences.
Marketing
I didn't spend anything on 'hard' marketing for PistonHeads - it was all about arming my army of advocates with every reason to talk about PH.
Subsequent ventures have needed the word-of-mouth card played but backed up with hard spend on Google and Meta. I've spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on digital ads now and learned the intricacies of each platform.
The Stuff They Don't Tell You
Behind the scenes of any business - particularly anything community related - is a dark side that can include the police, legal challenges, media manipulation, hackers and chancers all out to ruin your day. I can help you get ahead of such challenges.
Consumer Behaviour
I'm a keen student of consumer psychology and how to use it within systems design. There are no magic bullets, but every little understanding helps oil the wheels of ecommerce.
Podcasts & Interviews
The PistonHeads story and more...
“The biggest single influence in the car media arena - certainly in northern Europe - in the last twenty years.”
Chris Harris & Edward Lovett are in conversation with PistonHeads founder, David Edmonston (@PetrolTed). They chat about the birth of one of the best known automotive brands on the internet, encounters with the police, and legendary threads from the forum.
- Chris Harris
- Edward Lovett
Dave's influence across the automotive world is somewhat profound...
Takona Tlks with Dave Edmonston, the founder of PistonHeads, now working with Collecting Cars, and has spent time building and developing websites and platforms across the automotive world. With his latest venture being helping people to learn how to better handle the roads safely.
Dave's influence across the automotive world is somewhat profound, being behind some of the communities that have brought so many people together, and having helped to improve existing platforms that people love. On a personal level it was the piston heads forums that helped me to grow friendships with other car enthusiasts, as well as providing a plethora of interesting stories and groups that got me through long night shifts in the psychiatric hospitals.
- Lewis Warren
... one of the automotive industry's most innovative technologists
Dave (Ted) Edmonston, in this week's exciting episode, we speak to one of the automotive industry's most innovative technologists. Founder of PetrolHeads, the largest online community of car enthusiasts to the CTO and CMO of Collecting Cars, the brainchild of Ed Lovett.
Hear from Dave how he founded a new way of doing car communities and the associated ups and downs of entrepreneurship in an industry he loves.
- Harry Phypers
Collecting Cars! With Ed Lovett & David Edmonston
This episode stars Ed Lovett and David Edmonston from CollectingCars.com being interviewed in their bustling London office.
John and Amy delve deep into the new and exciting platform transforming how people buy, sell and browse cars around the world.
- Driven Chat
David’s been quietly shaping some of the biggest names...
David Edmonston is the founder of the legendary PistonHeads.com, one of those rare founders who built something before the world was ready for it, and made it work anyway.
PistonHeads was a site that not only transformed the way car enthusiasts connected in the early 2000s but did it before social media was even a thing. He built it from the ground up, bootstrapped the whole way, and eventually sold it to Haymarket Media in 2007.
Since then, David’s been quietly shaping some of the biggest names in the automotive and auction world—building platforms like Collecting Cars and Watch Collecting, and most recently launching Driving Masters, a project aimed at bringing the joy of advanced driving to petrolheads everywhere.
- Alastair Campbell