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Most people complain about the office, but Joe Averill built a business by rethinking it.
He launched Level in the middle of a so-called office apocalypse: no co-founder, no funding and a young family depending on him. But Joe saw what others didn’t: companies still want space, they just don’t want old-school leases, hidden costs or landlord games.
Before Level, Joe cut his teeth in Manchester’s tech scene, learned sales the hard way and built a network the old-fashioned way: by showing up. Today, Level is one of the fastest-growing tenant-only advisory firms in the UK, built on one principle: trust scales faster than hype.
If you’re an entrepreneur debating your next office move (or scaling without a safety net) this is your episode.
🔗 Find Joe on LinkedIn
Takeaways from Joe’s episode
1️⃣ Self-belief is a business strategy
Joe launched Level with no co-founder, no funding and no safety net. The first resource he built with was conviction.
2️⃣ Sales is still the engine
Joe grew Level through pipeline and process. Prospecting, follow-up and conversion are still what move revenue.
3️⃣ Networks compound when you give first
Joe built relationships by adding value, making introductions and understanding people, not by pitching them.
4️⃣ The office isn’t dead, lazy thinking is
Hybrid changed how teams use space, not whether they need it. Smart founders now prioritise flexibility, amenities and cost transparency over long leases.
5️⃣ Confidence follows action
Joe still gets nervous before panels and big rooms. He just does it anyway. Reps build confidence, not theory.
In this episode we cover:
00:00 Introduction to Joe Averill
02:03 The “offices are dead” bet
05:52 What tech taught him about pipeline, product & pitch
10:08 Networking that adds value (not noise)
12:50 Personal brand, minus the cringe
17:33 Shy to on-stage: reps over fear
20:55 Tenant-side only: flipping the model
23:24 The office brief most founders miss
30:22 When revenue tanks: steady hands, smart moves
33:12 Mentors, models & the lessons to ignore
35:37 From notebooks to playbooks: systems > heroics
39:00 Scaling with fractionals: CFOs, COOs & more
42:23 Founder energy: avoiding burnout (for real)
45:38 Activity breeds confidence: getting unstuck
47:31 The best risk he ever took
