Michael Pennington

Michael Pennington is the co-founder of Gumtree, the UK classifieds business, and angel-invests from London at $25k-$100k checks at pre-seed and seed in health IT software, with no AI focus flagged. The small check size and absence of a personal website or thesis suggest this is opportunistic angel activity rather than a structured program, which is typical for successful operator-angels who back people they meet through their networks. Founders building UK-based healthcare software, particularly anything with a marketplace, classifieds, or consumer-supply dynamic where his Gumtree experience adds operating value, are the natural fit. He is not a healthcare specialist and is unlikely to be useful for biotech, devices, or anything requiring deep clinical expertise. The check size is small enough that founders should think of him as a single-line item in a party round rather than a meaningful signal investor. Outreach should run via LinkedIn with a tight one-paragraph note, ideally through a mutual UK founder or operator connection. Without a website, Twitter, or visible portfolio narrative, cold founders should keep expectations modest and prioritize their time on more programmatic investors. This is a real but small angel; treat him as filler capital alongside a stronger lead, not as the anchor of any round.