The Contrarians with Adam and Adir

The Contrarians

Get the fearless truth about start-ups and corporate Australia from guys that give you the hard facts, not the company line. Hear Luxury Escapes co-founder Adam Schwab and Catapult Sports Exec Chairman Adir Shiffman provide the inside word on the biggest stories in business with a contrarian take from the guys who sit on both sides of the table. New episodes dropping weekly.

  1. 6h ago

    Anthropic’s Massive IPO. Will it Sink?

    Emergency pod! Anthropic has finally opened its books, giving Adam and Adir their clearest look yet at the economics behind Claude and one of the fastest-growing businesses in history. Join us on Substack for articles, news and more: https://www.thecontrarianspod.com/

  2. 1d ago

    NextDC Disaster, is Canva's Comeback for Real, Airbnb Rule Change and Rich Investor Tax Shock

    Adam and Adir unpack the tax shock hitting Australian venture capital and private equity, including why carried interest has historically received favourable treatment and what the government's new capital gains rules could mean for fund managers. They also look at France's extraordinary levels of government spending and the growing tension between generations over wealth, housing and welfare. Then it's back to tech and business. Canva launches its own image generation model as it fights to stay relevant in the AI era, Airbnb finally cracks down on excessive checkout chores, NextDC loses more than 40% in a single day after delays to its Melbourne data centre, and Temple & Webster rallies after an update that leaves Adir even more convinced of his short thesis. CHAPTERS00:00 - Inside The Pod, Media and The Contrarians Live 23:33 - Myeloma Australia and Adam's Family Story 27:12 - The 47% Carried Interest Tax Shock 43:48 - France, Government Spending and Generational Wealth 01:00:12 - Canva Fights Back With AI 01:09:07 - Airbnb Ends Excessive Checkout Chores 01:17:09 - NextDC Crashes 42% 01:32:46 - Temple & Webster's 31% Rally LINKS Myeloma Australia: https://myeloma.org.au/ Join us on Substack for articles, news and more: https://www.thecontrarianspod.com/

  3. 4d ago

    How Adam Runs Luxury Escapes and Builds Great Teams

    Adam and Will go inside the way Luxury Escapes is actually run, from the decisions Adam still personally signs off on to the systems, people and mental models behind one of Australia's biggest travel businesses. Adam explains why CEOs should never become blockers, why he dislikes traditional strategy days, how Luxury Escapes stays entrepreneurial with hundreds of employees, what makes a great salesperson, how he thinks about culture and when it's time to move someone on. They also unpack Luxury Escapes' competitive advantages, its approach to brand and marketing, sustainable growth over inflated valuations, and why Adam treats mistakes very differently depending on whether someone was taking initiative or simply failed to act. CHAPTERS 01:33 - The Schwab Method: How Adam Runs Luxury Escapes08:32 - Why Adam Still Signs Off Every Deal15:42 - Speed, Decisions and Never Being The Blocker28:04 - Sales, Culture and Building High-Performance Teams39:49 - Competitive Advantage, Growth and How Adam Thinks About Mistakes LINKS Adam recently joined Sarah Grynberg on A Life of Greatness to discuss building Luxury Escapes, taking risks and why success is about more than money:Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify Luxury Escapes:https://luxuryescapes.com BlueRock:https://www.bluerock.com.au/thecontrarians Acquire Intelligence:https://acquire.ai/contrarians Braze:https://www.braze.com/ Join us on Substack for articles, news and more:https://www.thecontrarianspod.com/

  4. Oct 20

    Anthropic’s $2tn Fever Dream, Firmus Tanks AI Globally, Maas' Week from Hell and is Software Dead?

    Adam and Adir unpack the latest fallout from Australia’s surcharge ban, the rise of PayID and PayTo, Victoria’s new auction rules and a software developer recreating products like Photoshop with AI. Then they turn to the growing cracks in the AI boom: the Firmus fallout spreading through CoreWeave and other data-centre names, MAAS Group’s brutal sell-off and aggressive buybacks, and Anthropic’s extraordinary growth, and whether a potential $2 trillion valuation can possibly be justified. 01:58 - Ticket Bots and Radiohead 07:15 - Springvale, Retail and PayID 14:12 - The Surcharge Ban 29:17 - Europe’s Biggest Companies Quiz 38:09 - AI Clones Software 44:31 - Property Density and Victoria’s New Auction Rules 53:25 - Firmus, MAAS, Anthropic and The AI Bubble We're delighted to announce the next Contrarians Live, hosted at BlueRock! Join us on the 8th December in Melbourne CBD for the best live pod recording in Australia. Special guests to be announced. Get your tickets now at the link below: https://events.humanitix.com/the-contrarians-live-at-bluerock Join us on Substack for articles, news and more: The Contrarians

  5. Oct 16

    Soul Patts: The $18bn ASX Giant Most Australians Have Never Heard Of

    Adam, Adir and Scott Middleton from Terem Capital take a deep dive into Washington H. Soul Pattinson, the $18bn ASX giant hiding in plain sight. They trace Soul Patts from its pharmacy roots through Brickworks, New Hope, NBN and TPG, unpack how permanent capital and patient dealmaking have compounded across generations, and examine the investment philosophy that has made the company one of Australia’s most enduring businesses. Then they tackle the harder question: after more than a century of extraordinary results, is Soul Patts’ premium valuation still justified today? 00:08 - The Soul Patts Story 18:43 - How Soul Patts Compounds Wealth 30:10 - Is Soul Patts Too Expensive? Join us on Substack for articles, news and more: https://www.thecontrarianspod.com/

  6. Oct 12

    Firmus’ IPO Fallout with Guest John Stensholt, Maas Smashed, Swipejobs’ $2bn IPO and Melbourne Marathon Chaos

    Adam and Adir unpack the fallout from Melbourne Marathon weekend, the surprising decline in alcohol consumption and the latest consequences of Australia’s surcharge changes, before John Stensholt joins the show to break down the spectacular collapse of Firmus’ planned ASX float. They dig into what went wrong with the $44 billion IPO, what it means for Oliver Curtis and MAAS Group, and where the data-centre story goes from here, before turning to Katrina Leslie’s remarkable Swipejobs story and its potential multi-billion-dollar listing. 01:34 - Melbourne Marathon Chaos 12:48 - Retail, Furniture and Property 15:40 - Is Australia Giving Up Alcohol? 19:52 - The Surcharge Ban and The ATO Backflip 25:40 - Australia’s Public Sector Productivity Problem 34:03 - John Stensholt On The Firmus IPO Collapse 59:30 - MAAS Group’s Firmus Fallout 1:05:24 - Swipejobs’ $2bn IPO Story Join us on Substack for articles, news and more: https://www.thecontrarianspod.com/

  7. Oct 9

    Blackmagic Founder Cage Match, More Cettire Drama and is Bending Spoons the Real Deal?

    Adam and Adir unpack the ugly founder and shareholder battle at Blackmagic Design, what it says about minority ownership and why a strong shareholders agreement matters. They then revisit Cettire after Dean Mintz buys another $2.7 million of shares and debate whether taking the company private could make sense, before turning to Bending Spoons’ acquisition of Miro and whether its highly leveraged “cigar butt” strategy can really create lasting value. Join us on Substack for articles, news and more: https://www.thecontrarianspod.com/

  8. Oct 9

    Firmus IPO Pulled: We go inside and explain what went wrong

    Join us on Substack for articles, news and more: ⁠https://www.thecontrarianspod.com/⁠

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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Get the fearless truth about start-ups and corporate Australia from guys that give you the hard facts, not the company line. Hear Luxury Escapes co-founder Adam Schwab and Catapult Sports Exec Chairman Adir Shiffman provide the inside word on the biggest stories in business with a contrarian take from the guys who sit on both sides of the table. New episodes dropping weekly.

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