Paul Avins is not your average business coach. Twenty years after the face of coal developed by entrepreneurs, the CEO of the Massive Action Coach helped over 550 companies earn more than £1 million in revenue, many of whom reached £5 million, £10 million, and even exited the eight-digit figure. But if you think this is another inspiring speaker who touts thought cliches and Instagram mottos, think about it again.
“I never believed in the Master model,” Avens said. “I don't want clients to think their success has something to do with me. It's about what we built together.”
We were sitting in a quiet corner outside Oxford, just before his third expansion to the summit, his team (known as the “Purple Team”) ran a curated group, summits and business retreats on scale, aimed at building entrepreneurs Avins calls “the business of adult businesses.”
If the phrase sounds unusual, it's because Avins spent most of his twenty years redefining the meaning of responsibly scaling. He's very likely to talk about mitochondrial health and hydrogen water, just like his gross margin or AI automation, all of which are pursuing creating high-performance entrepreneurs who will not only burn brightly and burn.
Nine years ago, Avins suffered a life-threatening asthma attack, resulting in cardiac arrest. He leveled and fixed for four minutes. “I bought the classic founder lies,” he recalls. “'When building a business, I weighed my health and fixed the rest later.” But then it didn’t always come. ”
This experience changes everything. Today, Avins talks openly about burnout, the mental health cost of leadership, and the key role he calls “founder fitness.”
“I started investing in my health like I invest in marketing channels. If the CEO goes bankrupt, your business will not be able to scale.”
Now his everyday kit includes red light therapy, IV vitamin drip, intermittent fasting and obsessive tracking of using biometric wearables. “You don't run to eight numbers on caffeine and chaos,” he said. “You need endurance, clarity and an unfried nervous system.”
From “Managing Director” to “Chief Executive Officer”
But Aves's most acute insight is not only physiology, but also psychological. His paper is simple: To expand your company, you must first expand your identity.
“One of the biggest red flags I hear from business owners is, ‘I still fire every day’,” he explained. “If you are the person who does that, you are not the CEO – you are still the operator.”
His task is to completely eliminate the title of “Managing Director”.
“It's a powerless title. It means maintenance rather than motivation. CEOs who scale up create growth – they won't get caught in their day-to-day jobs.”
It's not just semantics. Avins operates the UK’s No. 1 curator F12, with members reporting an average growth rate of 300% over 12 months. What's the difference? It depends on consistency, strategy and community, Arvins said.
“The first thing I teach my clients is: What makes you reach £100,000 won't get you to £1 million. What makes you reach £1 million, certainly won't get you to £5 million.”
He divides the journey of scale into different stages – each of which requires a new set of tools, systems and psychological models. “People stick to the same strategy to get them to pull early, but zooming is a different game. It's about team, system and culture, not hustle and bustle.”
From e-commerce to education, healthcare to hospitality, this structured thinking is a trusted mentor to make Avins a CEO. Now, his planner's business has an annual turnover of nearly £250 million.
But perhaps his greatest influence is to build a truly growing leader community – people who cheer each other, share vulnerability, and do not pose or tilt.
“I’ve been to a lot of activities full of self and posture. We’re not like that,” said Carly Myers, one of Avins’ latest collaborators. “People walked into his world and felt seeing, supporting and challenging.”
This spirit is most active at Avins' flagship event: The Expansion Summit. Now in its third year, the two-day event in May brings together ambitious entrepreneurs, practical educators and unexpected talents – including a robotics artist who recently sold his job at Sotheby's for £1 million.
“We don't do bait and switch things. No one is advertised £25,000 per hour,” Avins said. “You come to learn, grow and meet people who will expand your world.”
Why most suggestions cannot be extended
He is wary of general business advice – the “five steps” genre of thought permeates social media.
“The truth is, a strategy from £0 to £100,000 with getting £1 million, then £5 million, and so on,” he said. “There is no universal formula. For the right business, there is the right move at the right time.”
So what is a constant? For Avins, there are three: consistency, constantly evolving your strategy, and surround yourself with the right people.
“Entrepreneurship is lonely. Two days in the morning, salary expires, suppliers exit, who do you call? That's why we built this community.”
His planners regularly include six- and seven-digit founders to help each other, expand globally, team challenges and industry disruptions. “Sometimes five minutes of conversations at the bar can save you five months of stress,” he said.
Despite his disgust with the hype, Arvins has no shortage of ambitions. He describes himself as a strategist, and Sherpa – the one who climbs and knows how to help others rise safely.
“I tell people: You're not going to Everest for the first time. Start with the smaller mountain, build muscles and scale from there.”
When did it get tough?
“Keep your vision and do the work,” he said. “Your job is to look up and keep the life of your dreams – while doing the work to be someone who can achieve your goals.”
Whether it is a retreat in Spain or a two-day summit in London, Avins will create a deep transformation environment. “The best idea is that it happens when you step out of your daily activities and enter the room where everyone is thinking about a bigger one.”
That's why he puts this value on face-to-face events even in the world on digital.
“You don't know who you're going to sit next to, but they might just change your life,” he said.
Paul Avins may be one of the most trusted names in the expanded mentorship, but it’s not just his trailblazing that set him apart – it’s his refusal to put himself in the center of the story.
“I’m not here to build a cult of personality,” he said. “I’m here to help people build lasting businesses and live their lives.”
This is what he calls true success. In a noisy business world, this is a message worth listening to.
