After scaling his company to a successful exit, Paul O’Dwyer devoted his career to coaching other leaders to do the same

When the payment processor Ezypay, based in Sydney, Australia, was acquired by Xplor Technologies, an Atlanta-based private equity firm, in September 2025, Paul O’Dwyer saw his experience with the Scaling Up platform come full circle.

Early in his career, O’Dwyer applied the Rockefeller Habits to Total Learn, his training and consulting firm, during a period of rapid growth. The results were so powerful he ended up selling the company to a publicly traded firm.

O’Dwyer became a Scaling Up coach in 2010 and started work with Ezpay’s CEO James Foster and founder George Hollman in 2020, as they navigated Covid lockdown. Among their core customers were fitness studios, which were shuttered during the pandemic, cutting off vital revenue. O’Dwyer helped Ezpay put the Scaling Up processes in place and develop its leadership team to get growth back on track; he eventually became a member of the firm’s advisory board.

From scaleup founder to coach

Born in Ireland, O’Dwyer came to Australia in 1989 and began his career working in computer training. At that time, many companies and government departments were migrating to PCs. O’Dwyer estimates he ran 500 to 600 one-day and two-day workshops on word processing, database programming and related subjects from 1990 to 1995. That experience led to his starting Total Learn. Gradually, demand for the firm’s advisory services grew, and over the next 12 years it grew to become one of the largest providers of technological change management consulting in the region. “Any time a government agency, large mining company or bank was rolling out a major system, we would invariably work with the system implementation company and then go on to train 10,000 or 20,000 people at a time on some of the bigger projects,” he recalls.

Exiting at the top of the market

Despite the company’s success, O’Dwyer experienced the perils of fast growth firsthand when the company “grew too big, too quickly,” straining its resources. He says he made some major mistakes, such as hiring several senior managers who did not perform well. Looking for solutions, he turned to Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. “I read it in a weekend,” he says. “Within two years, I had rebuilt the business and exited at the top of the market, just before the global financial crisis.”

To gain a greater understanding of the Rockefeller Habits, O’Dwyer initially attended one of our seminars in Sydney. What he learned helped him turn his business around within two years. He sold it to SMS Management and Technology, a publicly traded company, before the global financial crisis hit, finalizing the deal in October 2007.

Prioritizing highly committed clients

After O’Dwyer became a Scaling Up Certified coach in 2010, he built his practice through speaking engagements and word of mouth. He worked mostly with technology firms with $5 million to $100 million in revenue, with some notable exceptions, such as a client that processed kangaroo meat into a healthy alternative to traditional dog food.

Early in his coaching practice, O’Dwyer made a decision that served him well: He would only work with clients who committed to a minimum of 12 months of coaching so he could truly get to know the teams he advised and change the working habits of the team over time. Prior to these year-long engagements, he typically held a two-day workshop to make sure there was a good fit to start with.

During Covid, as business slowed, O’Dwyer expected demand for coaching to fall off, but he found himself busier than ever, working with up to 16 client companies at a time. “I felt an obligation to help them,” he says. “Covid was impacting them and their businesses.” Along the way, he became co-owner to two companies that had successful exits.

Overcoming adversity

Scaling Up carried O’Dwyer through a serious accident three years ago, in which he broke his neck in a cycling accident. He had to undergo an eight-month recovery in a neck brace. “Things did not look good, but I was determined not to let my clients down,” he says. “For about 15 months, I coached via video until I recovered enough to travel again. Thankfully, I’ve now pretty much fully recovered, and I’m back to big hiking and running adventures—and on the path to marathons once more.”

O’Dwyer is now retiring from coaching and is planning to write a book, drawing on his work with CEOs. “My passion for becoming a coach has always been to help founders navigate their internal challenges and strengths so they can achieve the success they want and enjoy a rewarding life,” he says.