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.

New episodes coming soon.

Coming to:

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.

Coming Soon

Season One

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

001

Cathal O'Reilly

Founder, Rooftop Twenty Two

Full service digital and creative agency based in Dublin. Strategy, branding, web, social, and SEO for Irish businesses.

Full Service Dublin

002

Mark Kelso

Co-Founder, Glaze Digital

Belfast-based Shopify agency in the top 1.5% globally. 250+ stores built, generating over £20M per month combined.

E-commerce Amsterdam

003

Aedín O'Neill

Founder, GrowWeb

Award-winning PPC and paid media agency. Female-founded in 2019, now a team of seven winning UK Search Awards and Paid Media Awards.

Paid Media Belfast

004

Elizabeth Heaney & Anthony Heaney

Co-Founders, Squint Creative

Northern Ireland CGI studio creating bold 3D animation and motion design for brands like Primark, Visit Belfast, and Heineken. Started from their apartment in 2020.

CGI / Animation Northern Ireland

005

Richie Lavery

Founder, Phantom

Northern Ireland's leading property marketing agency. Photography, video, drone, 3D virtual tours, and floor plans for estate agents provincewide.

Property Marketing Belfast

006

Fergal Hughes

Founder, FH Design

The Lean Brand Designer. Builds practical branding systems that growing businesses can actually use day to day, not logos that sit in folders.

Brand Design Northern Ireland

007

Pete Lynagh

Founder & CEO, HAUL Agency

Niche digital marketing agency built exclusively for the transport and logistics industry. Team of five plus 20+ specialists, serving clients globally.

Niche Agency Melbourne

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