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18: M&A Zing (Ep. 19) - AI, Exits & The CEO Mindset: Paul Avins
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From “credit-card startup money” to five exits + a global coaching empire, Paul Evans unpacks the exact playbook for scaling to £10 m… then deciding whether to buy, build or cash-out.
Paul Avins, founder of Scale Up Coaching and community-builder at Team Dynamics Global, has helped owners add a combined £140 m+ in enterprise value. In this rapid-fire conversation we cover:
The “mountain” framework that shows you exactly when to switch strategy (sales engine → acquisitions → exit)
Why changing one word in your LinkedIn title forces the CEO mindset
How AI agents are collapsing 2-week quoting cycles into 3-hour sprints
The #1 lie trapping most founders under £5 m—and how to break it
Guest bio
Paul Avins is a serial entrepreneur (5 exits, 2 spectacular flops), award-winning former ActionCOACH franchisee and host of The Grown-Up Business Podcast. Through Scale Up Coaching and Team Dynamics Global he guides founders past seven figures and onto life-changing capital events.
⏱️ TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro & welcome
0:45 Meet Paul Avins - 5 exits, 2 “face-plants”
1:32 New UK & EU searchers shout-out (Marques Paolo, Sebastian de Bock)
2:16 What Scale Up Coaching & Team Dynamics actually do
3:00 Paul’s early exits + ActionCOACH award run
4:57 Mentors & the bookshelf that shaped his philosophy
7:14 The “mountain” stages of revenue (£1 m → £25 m)
9:22 Crossing the £5 m chasm—build, buy or sell?
12:18 CEO vs Managing Director: one word that changes everything
15:05 Borrowing vs. equity dilution (and the hidden mindset block)
17:11 AI in the real world—7-figure quote automation case study
22:02 Global language hacks & website heat-mapping with LLMs
26:03 Human connection as the next competitive moat
33:13 Jeff Bezos’ unchanging truths test—for any industry
34:45 Paul’s horizon: Dubai “3-Day MBA”, £50 m exits & bio-hacking roll-up
38:40 Where to connect with Paul & free resources
39:59 Gareth’s wrap-up & next week’s preview
📎 RESOURCES MENTIONED
Scale Up Coaching →https://www.paulavins.com/coaching
Paul’s site → https://www.paulavins.com/
The Grown-Up Business Podcast → https://www.paulavins.com/podcast
AI tools referenced: ElevenLabs voice-clone, Fireflies quoting agent, ChatGPT-4o heat-map plug-ins
About M&A Zing
Host Gareth Hawkins: CEO & Co-Founder, BizCrunch (exited founder & M&A investor). Each week we dive into real-world SMB M&A across the UK & Europe.
Join the BizCrunch Community
Early-access episodes, live Q&A and networking for acquisition entrepreneurs & investors. Sign up → https://www.bizcrunch.co/community
Featured News
Microsoft chooses a boutique London venue for Satya Nadella’s EU product launch
BGF doubles down on UK tech after its nine-figure exit from Rock Technologies
UK Startup Loans: £25 k per founder at 6 %—why Sam Simpson still says “no PG debt”
Thanks for watching! Please like, subscribe and drop questions below—or better yet, join our community for the private AMA.
Paul Avins, founder of Scale Up Coaching and community-builder at Team Dynamics Global, has helped owners add a combined £140 m+ in enterprise value. In this rapid-fire conversation we cover:
The “mountain” framework that shows you exactly when to switch strategy (sales engine → acquisitions → exit)
Why changing one word in your LinkedIn title forces the CEO mindset
How AI agents are collapsing 2-week quoting cycles into 3-hour sprints
The #1 lie trapping most founders under £5 m—and how to break it
Guest bio
Paul Avins is a serial entrepreneur (5 exits, 2 spectacular flops), award-winning former ActionCOACH franchisee and host of The Grown-Up Business Podcast. Through Scale Up Coaching and Team Dynamics Global he guides founders past seven figures and onto life-changing capital events.
⏱️ TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro & welcome
0:45 Meet Paul Avins - 5 exits, 2 “face-plants”
1:32 New UK & EU searchers shout-out (Marques Paolo, Sebastian de Bock)
2:16 What Scale Up Coaching & Team Dynamics actually do
3:00 Paul’s early exits + ActionCOACH award run
4:57 Mentors & the bookshelf that shaped his philosophy
7:14 The “mountain” stages of revenue (£1 m → £25 m)
9:22 Crossing the £5 m chasm—build, buy or sell?
12:18 CEO vs Managing Director: one word that changes everything
15:05 Borrowing vs. equity dilution (and the hidden mindset block)
17:11 AI in the real world—7-figure quote automation case study
22:02 Global language hacks & website heat-mapping with LLMs
26:03 Human connection as the next competitive moat
33:13 Jeff Bezos’ unchanging truths test—for any industry
34:45 Paul’s horizon: Dubai “3-Day MBA”, £50 m exits & bio-hacking roll-up
38:40 Where to connect with Paul & free resources
39:59 Gareth’s wrap-up & next week’s preview
📎 RESOURCES MENTIONED
Scale Up Coaching →https://www.paulavins.com/coaching
Paul’s site → https://www.paulavins.com/
The Grown-Up Business Podcast → https://www.paulavins.com/podcast
AI tools referenced: ElevenLabs voice-clone, Fireflies quoting agent, ChatGPT-4o heat-map plug-ins
About M&A Zing
Host Gareth Hawkins: CEO & Co-Founder, BizCrunch (exited founder & M&A investor). Each week we dive into real-world SMB M&A across the UK & Europe.
Join the BizCrunch Community
Early-access episodes, live Q&A and networking for acquisition entrepreneurs & investors. Sign up → https://www.bizcrunch.co/community
Featured News
Microsoft chooses a boutique London venue for Satya Nadella’s EU product launch
BGF doubles down on UK tech after its nine-figure exit from Rock Technologies
UK Startup Loans: £25 k per founder at 6 %—why Sam Simpson still says “no PG debt”
Thanks for watching! Please like, subscribe and drop questions below—or better yet, join our community for the private AMA.
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