The Podcast

Exit Ready

I talk to agency owners about what's actually going on inside their businesses. How they're growing. What broke along the way. How they're using AI. And whether they could disappear for 90 days without the whole thing falling apart.

Season One is live. New episodes weekly.

Listen on:

Spotify Apple Podcasts YouTube

Exit Ready podcast cover art — Connor McAuley

What We Talk About

Most agency podcasts are generic business advice dressed up in agency language. This one isn't. I interview agency owners who are actually in it. Building teams, losing clients, figuring out pricing, trying to work less. The stuff that matters when you're running the thing.

Growth

Pricing, sales, positioning. The decisions that actually move revenue, not the ones that just feel productive.

Systems

How to stop being the bottleneck. Delegation, operations, and building something that works when you're not there.

AI & Tools

What agencies are actually doing with AI right now. Not the hype. The stuff that's saving time and making money.

Team & Hiring

Getting the right people. Getting rid of the wrong ones. And building a team you don't have to babysit.

Season One

Episodes

Conversations with agency owners who are in it right now. Building, hiring, pricing, breaking things, fixing them. No rehearsed answers.

001

Cathal O'Reilly Watch Now

Founder, Rooftop Twenty Two

Cathal O'Reilly built Rooftop Twenty Two from his bedroom in 2020 to a 14-person agency in Dublin. We talk about the moment he stopped being a freelancer with a team and started running an actual business.

Full ServiceDublin

002

Mark Kelso Watch Now

Co-Founder, Glaze Digital

Mark Kelso co-founded Glaze Digital, a Shopify Plus partner in the top 1.5% globally. We talk about what happened when they matched the commercial side of the business to the technical excellence that was already there. 47% revenue growth and 110% profit growth in 13 months.

E-commerceAmsterdam

003

Aedin O'Neill Watch Now

Founder, Grow Web

Aedin O'Neill runs Grow Web, a boutique PPC and paid media agency in Belfast. She made a deliberate choice to stay specialist: 80% performance, 20% brand. No full-service drift. In this episode we talk about why specialism is a competitive advantage, the daily fight for brand control against Meta and Google, and the advantage of running a business with a sibling.

PPCBelfast

004

Elizabeth & Anthony Heaney Watch Now

Co-Founders, Squint Creative

Elizabeth and Anthony Heaney started Squint Creative from their apartment during COVID lockdown in 2020, while both working 12-hour shifts at a diagnostics company. Five years later they run one of the most distinctive CGI and fake out of home studios in the country, working with Primark, Boost and Visit Belfast. In this episode we talk about building a business on the side, running one with your spouse, and how AI is reshaping the CGI workflow.

CGIFake Out of Home

005

Pete Lynagh Watch Now

Founder & CEO, HAUL Agency

Pete Lynagh runs HAUL Agency out of Melbourne, a marketing and personal branding agency for the transport and logistics industry. Two years ago he rebranded from a generalist agency and went all in on one vertical. In this episode we talk about why niching down is a commercial advantage, the four-quadrant content model that keeps clients, staff, and new talent engaged, and where AI is pulling the agency next.

NichingLogistics

006

David Kieran Watch Now

Founder & Managing Director, Zoma

David Kieran started Marketing For Me out of his attic in Dundalk in 2016, going door to door selling websites when other digital marketers refused to leave their laptops. Nine years later he is the founder and MD of Zoma, a 15-person full-service agency, front of shirt sponsor of Dundalk FC, and exploring a US office and an AI sub-brand.

Brand AgencyDundalk

007

Fergal Hughes Coming Soon

Founder, FH Design

Fergal Hughes runs FH Design out of Magherafelt as the Lean Brand Designer. After his first studio, Shady Dolphin, closed during COVID and his father passed suddenly, he went solo, learned Lean from his uncle's SOP business, and built a niche almost nobody else has claimed: lean branding for manufacturers.

Brand DesignLean

008

Kathryn Byberg Coming Soon

Founder, Little Leaf

Kathryn Byberg runs Little Leaf, the world's only specialist PR and communications agency for sexual wellness. Founded at the start of COVID and now a remote team of 14 across Europe, the US and Canada, working with sex toy brands, lubricant brands, retailers and educators across the US and UK.

PRSexual Wellness

Your Host

Connor McAuley

Founder, Move at Pace

I ran a creative agency in Belfast for 13 years. Built it from designing logos in my bedroom for £150 a pop to £200k months, a team of 40+, and a multi-seven-figure exit in 2020.

Along the way I made every mistake going. Quoted £5k for a project worth £35k. Had a single client at 40% of revenue. Worked 80-hour weeks convinced that was just what running an agency looked like.

Now I help agency owners through Move at Pace and the Augmented Agency community. This podcast is part of that. I'm talking to the people who are in it right now, finding out what's working and what isn't.

£2.2M Agency revenue at exit

40+ Team at acquisition

13 Years in agencies

Be a Guest

Come on the Show

I want to talk to agency owners who'll be straight about what's going on. The wins, the mistakes, the stuff you wouldn't put on LinkedIn. If you run a creative or digital agency and you've got a story worth telling, let me know.

Good fit if you have:

A creative, digital, or marketing agency
At least a couple of years under your belt
Something specific you've learned that would help other owners
No interest in giving a polished, rehearsed answer