Adam Schwab
Person
Adam Schwab is an entrepreneur and podcaster, best known as the co-founder and CEO of Luxury Escapes, a leading global travel retailer. He also co-hosts the business podcast 'The Contrarians with Adam and Adir' alongside Adir Shiffman.
What Adam Schwab has said on podcasts
194 statements
Modern entrepreneurship has different challenges rather than being simply easier.
“I'm not sure it's easier now than it ever was. Like, there's just different challenges.”
Open the episode · Expert360 Heartbreak, CTM is Back, Iran Stalemate gets less Stale and The Athlete Rich ListListen at 5:02
Separation agreements can exchange compensation for orderly departure and nondisparagement.
“we'll give you money if you do A, B, C, D, one of which is leave like nicely, and one of which is not disparage us publicly.”
Open the episode · Expert360 Heartbreak, CTM is Back, Iran Stalemate gets less Stale and The Athlete Rich ListListen at 19:03
The Strait of Hormuz is steadily losing strategic value.
“the Strait of Hormuz is becoming less and less valuable every day.”
Open the episode · Expert360 Heartbreak, CTM is Back, Iran Stalemate gets less Stale and The Athlete Rich ListListen at 58:34
The Strait of Hormuz blockade is weakening Iran’s position.
“the whole blockade's really weakening their position.”
Open the episode · Expert360 Heartbreak, CTM is Back, Iran Stalemate gets less Stale and The Athlete Rich ListListen at 59:03
Bridget’s Telstra board appointment was Expert360’s only significant misstep.
“I thought that the only real misstep was was that Telstra board appointment?”
Open the episode · Expert360 Heartbreak, CTM is Back, Iran Stalemate gets less Stale and The Athlete Rich ListListen at 1:10:27
CEOs should never accept external board appointments.
“I don't think any CEO should take an external board appointment ever.”
Open the episode · Expert360 Heartbreak, CTM is Back, Iran Stalemate gets less Stale and The Athlete Rich ListListen at 1:10:38
Expert360’s outcome was still positive despite returning less than invested.
“it still was a positive outcome.”
Open the episode · Expert360 Heartbreak, CTM is Back, Iran Stalemate gets less Stale and The Athlete Rich ListListen at 1:11:52
For investors, business failure without a realizable tax loss is the worst outcome.
“But the worst result is when the business goes zero and you can't get a tax loss.”
Open the episode · Expert360 Heartbreak, CTM is Back, Iran Stalemate gets less Stale and The Athlete Rich ListListen at 1:15:15
Steve Johnson was somewhat wrong about Corporate Travel Management’s valuation.
“I think he maybe was a bit wrong in this one.”
Open the episode · Expert360 Heartbreak, CTM is Back, Iran Stalemate gets less Stale and The Athlete Rich ListListen at 1:17:02
Corporate Travel Management remains significantly overvalued.
“this still appears significantly overvalued”
Open the episode · Expert360 Heartbreak, CTM is Back, Iran Stalemate gets less Stale and The Athlete Rich ListListen at 1:18:01
Corporate Travel Management generated only $3 million in adjusted operating cash flow.
“its operating cash flow was only $3 million last year after you account for the intangibles payment.”
Open the episode · Expert360 Heartbreak, CTM is Back, Iran Stalemate gets less Stale and The Athlete Rich ListListen at 1:18:40
Corporate travel contracts typically last at least three to five years, limiting immediate customer losses.
“they tend to be 3, 5-plus-year contracts, so like worst case you lose everybody, you lose 20%.”
Open the episode · Expert360 Heartbreak, CTM is Back, Iran Stalemate gets less Stale and The Athlete Rich ListListen at 1:19:33
- on Corporate Travel Management shareholder lawsuitsNegativeSep 7, 2026· The Contrarians with Adam and Adir
Corporate Travel Management is likely to face extensive shareholder class-action lawsuits.
“it's about to be a nightmare of class action lawsuits coming its way.”
Open the episode · Expert360 Heartbreak, CTM is Back, Iran Stalemate gets less Stale and The Athlete Rich ListListen at 1:22:34
Jamie Ferris apparently sold his entire stake in Corporate Travel Management.
“apparently Morgans last week did 2 block trades for an amount that equaled Jamie Ferris's stake in the business. So my mail is that Jamie, the founder, has sold his entire stake.”
Open the episode · Expert360 Heartbreak, CTM is Back, Iran Stalemate gets less Stale and The Athlete Rich ListListen at 1:23:40
Corporate Travel Management made $48 million in adjusted net profit last year.
“Well, literally made $48 million net profit last year before the one-off.”
Open the episode · Expert360 Heartbreak, CTM is Back, Iran Stalemate gets less Stale and The Athlete Rich ListListen at 1:24:42
Corporate frauds can remain concealed for extended periods.
“frauds can be hidden for a long time.”
Open the episode · Expert360 Heartbreak, CTM is Back, Iran Stalemate gets less Stale and The Athlete Rich ListListen at 1:28:48
Kogan First drives Kogan’s business and is underrated by the market.
“Kogan's business is really led by the performance of its Kogan First subscription business that continues to be really underrated by the market.”
Open the episode · Retail Deep Dive: Kogan shows the money and Cettire close to the edgeListen at 4:01
- on Australian consumer discretionary retailersNegativeSep 4, 2026· The Contrarians with Adam and Adir
Consumer discretionary retailers depend heavily on people moving houses.
“these are all consumer discretionary spending businesses and very reliant on effectively people changing houses.”
Open the episode · Retail Deep Dive: Kogan shows the money and Cettire close to the edgeListen at 5:13
Kogan is more defensive than other discussed retailers.
“Kogan's much more defensive.”
Open the episode · Retail Deep Dive: Kogan shows the money and Cettire close to the edgeListen at 5:24
JB Hi-Fi is a strong retailer and its market will eventually recover.
“It's a really good retailer and the market will eventually turn.”
Open the episode · Retail Deep Dive: Kogan shows the money and Cettire close to the edgeListen at 12:58
Cettire’s underlying loss was $12.5 million before further adjustments.
“their real loss was $12.5 million. But, but there's more.”
Open the episode · Retail Deep Dive: Kogan shows the money and Cettire close to the edgeListen at 21:48
Cettire’s liquid assets are materially below its current liabilities.
“the balance sheet begs to differ, with the company, uh, stating they had cash of $28 million and trade receivables of $16 million versus current liabilities of $101 million.”
Open the episode · Retail Deep Dive: Kogan shows the money and Cettire close to the edgeListen at 22:16
Cettire likely exhausted cash and borrowed to continue operating.
“they basically ran out of cash, had to desperately borrow got some cash in from whatever, and basically hand to mouth, day to day at the moment, trying to keep the lights on.”
Open the episode · Retail Deep Dive: Kogan shows the money and Cettire close to the edgeListen at 25:00
Cettire’s $89 million valuation is effectively worthless.
“The $89 million valuation spike, it's really effectively zero.”
Open the episode · Retail Deep Dive: Kogan shows the money and Cettire close to the edgeListen at 29:18
Anthropic’s $2 trillion valuation appears unjustifiably high.
“Anthropic at $2 trillion, like, that just seems completely ridiculous.”
Open the episode · Retail Deep Dive: Kogan shows the money and Cettire close to the edgeListen at 31:54
Cettire is a bad business, unlike JB Hi-Fi, which is a quality business discounted for sentiment.
“something like a Zettire now is just a bad business. But versus the JB Hi-Fi, great business but been marked down on sale versus Zettire marked down for a reason.”
Open the episode · Retail Deep Dive: Kogan shows the money and Cettire close to the edgeListen at 33:35
Disney’s depressed share price will eventually recover.
“Great business, great powers, but share price shocking, market hates it. Like you think that will eventually in time bounce back.”
Open the episode · Retail Deep Dive: Kogan shows the money and Cettire close to the edgeListen at 33:55
Zoox will improve while Canva deteriorates.
“this business will continue to get better, we think, and Canva's continuing to get worse”
Open the episode · Canva’s Investor Dumpster Fire, Xero’s Shareholder Smackdown, CTM’s Lifesasver Deal and GTA's $3.5bn BetListen at 10:48
Many Chinese electric-vehicle brands will disappear.
“it feels inevitable these Chinese brands is going to just, just completely go zump”
Open the episode · Canva’s Investor Dumpster Fire, Xero’s Shareholder Smackdown, CTM’s Lifesasver Deal and GTA's $3.5bn BetListen at 20:22
Industrial robots are already working effectively in dangerous mining environments.
“it's actually working pretty well at the moment. We just don't know about it because we're not on these sites.”
Open the episode · Canva’s Investor Dumpster Fire, Xero’s Shareholder Smackdown, CTM’s Lifesasver Deal and GTA's $3.5bn BetListen at 22:49
Disney possesses roughly five or six of Hamilton Helmer’s strategic powers.
“This is probably a business with 6 of the 7 powers, or 5 of the 6 powers if you're gonna say.”
Open the episode · Canva’s Investor Dumpster Fire, Xero’s Shareholder Smackdown, CTM’s Lifesasver Deal and GTA's $3.5bn BetListen at 34:27
Pet ownership and related growth have likely reached a peak.
“I think we've sort of hit peak pet”
Open the episode · Canva’s Investor Dumpster Fire, Xero’s Shareholder Smackdown, CTM’s Lifesasver Deal and GTA's $3.5bn BetListen at 47:49
Victoria currently has severe crime and governance problems.
“Victoria is a hellhole, and these people are shameless and disgraceful.”
Open the episode · Canva’s Investor Dumpster Fire, Xero’s Shareholder Smackdown, CTM’s Lifesasver Deal and GTA's $3.5bn BetListen at 51:17
Canva’s private-market valuation could require an 80% write-down.
“we think it could be like an 80% write-down if you really take it to market.”
Open the episode · Canva’s Investor Dumpster Fire, Xero’s Shareholder Smackdown, CTM’s Lifesasver Deal and GTA's $3.5bn BetListen at 1:04:49
The rise of AI has severely damaged Canva’s software business.
“AI just came from nowhere. These guys are the almost the biggest SaaSpocalypse victims out there.”
Open the episode · Canva’s Investor Dumpster Fire, Xero’s Shareholder Smackdown, CTM’s Lifesasver Deal and GTA's $3.5bn BetListen at 1:09:29
Canva is among the biggest victims of AI-driven software disruption.
“These guys are the almost the biggest SaaSpocalypse victims out there.”
Open the episode · Canva’s Investor Dumpster Fire, Xero’s Shareholder Smackdown, CTM’s Lifesasver Deal and GTA's $3.5bn BetListen at 1:09:30
Canva’s bullish case depends on making AI costs negligible through proprietary models.
“get the AI cost to really like close to nothing, but it's their own models. That's, that's the, that's the bull view.”
Open the episode · Canva’s Investor Dumpster Fire, Xero’s Shareholder Smackdown, CTM’s Lifesasver Deal and GTA's $3.5bn BetListen at 1:10:25
Canva’s $32–40 billion valuation is excessively high.
“But it's $40 billion and maybe even $32 billion, the latest mark. That's real high.”
Open the episode · Canva’s Investor Dumpster Fire, Xero’s Shareholder Smackdown, CTM’s Lifesasver Deal and GTA's $3.5bn BetListen at 1:11:41
Canva generated approximately $25 million in profit.
“This is a business that made $25 mil.”
Open the episode · Canva’s Investor Dumpster Fire, Xero’s Shareholder Smackdown, CTM’s Lifesasver Deal and GTA's $3.5bn BetListen at 1:11:46
Xero’s Melio acquisition was overpriced and Xero should exit that market.
“it seemed highly overpriced in a market they've never had any penetration in and should probably be leaving, not, not double down.”
Open the episode · Canva’s Investor Dumpster Fire, Xero’s Shareholder Smackdown, CTM’s Lifesasver Deal and GTA's $3.5bn BetListen at 1:16:07
Xero’s board has performed disastrously.
“this has been a disastrous board.”
Open the episode · Canva’s Investor Dumpster Fire, Xero’s Shareholder Smackdown, CTM’s Lifesasver Deal and GTA's $3.5bn BetListen at 1:17:36
Xero increased CEO Cassidy’s remuneration from $15 million to $18 million.
“they increasing Cassidy's remuneration from $18 million US to— from $15 to $18 million US this year.”
Open the episode · Canva’s Investor Dumpster Fire, Xero’s Shareholder Smackdown, CTM’s Lifesasver Deal and GTA's $3.5bn BetListen at 1:17:41
Xero should replace its board and CEO and reset the company.
“I think the board and CEO need to go. They need to reset this whole thing.”
Open the episode · Canva’s Investor Dumpster Fire, Xero’s Shareholder Smackdown, CTM’s Lifesasver Deal and GTA's $3.5bn BetListen at 1:18:38
Corporate Travel Management may be preparing to relist on the ASX.
“it appears that the embattled travel agent CTM may be preparing for relisting on the ASX”
Open the episode · Canva’s Investor Dumpster Fire, Xero’s Shareholder Smackdown, CTM’s Lifesasver Deal and GTA's $3.5bn BetListen at 1:20:45
No bank was willing to lend to Corporate Travel Management.
“No bank, I said no bank would and no bank did.”
Open the episode · Canva’s Investor Dumpster Fire, Xero’s Shareholder Smackdown, CTM’s Lifesasver Deal and GTA's $3.5bn BetListen at 1:21:31
Corporate Travel Management would have failed without the PEP loan.
“it's a business that would've died otherwise.”
Open the episode · Canva’s Investor Dumpster Fire, Xero’s Shareholder Smackdown, CTM’s Lifesasver Deal and GTA's $3.5bn BetListen at 1:21:58
Corporate Travel Management’s loan interest rate is likely above 12%.
“Probably 12+%, I would've thought.”
Open the episode · Canva’s Investor Dumpster Fire, Xero’s Shareholder Smackdown, CTM’s Lifesasver Deal and GTA's $3.5bn BetListen at 1:22:07
CTM could relist imminently, but releasing FY26 results remains the blocker.
“It could be relisting any day, but they haven't released the FY26 yet, which is the blocker.”
Open the episode · Canva’s Investor Dumpster Fire, Xero’s Shareholder Smackdown, CTM’s Lifesasver Deal and GTA's $3.5bn BetListen at 1:22:18
Most observers believed CTM would fail without the PEP financing.
“I think everybody did without this Hail Mary.”
Open the episode · Canva’s Investor Dumpster Fire, Xero’s Shareholder Smackdown, CTM’s Lifesasver Deal and GTA's $3.5bn BetListen at 1:23:40
EBITDA is an inappropriate metric for evaluating CTM’s financial performance.
“EBITDA is a frankly ridiculous metric to use here.”
Open the episode · Canva’s Investor Dumpster Fire, Xero’s Shareholder Smackdown, CTM’s Lifesasver Deal and GTA's $3.5bn BetListen at 1:26:07
Statements are attributed to the speaker as said on the episode and reflect their view at the time, not PodLume's. They are not advice.
