The Contrarians with Adam and Adir

Happy Saturday! We’re answering another batch of your questions this week. This week you asked: 🧠 How should someone with a strong career but average academic results explain ADHD and employability concerns to a potential employer? 🤝 Should Australia adopt broader employee ownership models to help workers build wealth and support retiring SME owners? 🇦🇺 What is Australia’s greatest i...

Adam and Adir discuss London’s heat wave, Victoria’s crime wave, Labor’s housing mess, the world’s most profitable companies, Nvidia and the AI bubble, remote work, Canva vs Figma, Koala, SkinKandy, The Man Shake and the latest Corporate Travel disaster. 00:00 - London's Heat Wave 06:00 - Victoria's Crime Wave and the Housing Debate 14:00 - The 30 Most Profitable Companies...

Happy Saturday! We’re back with another round of listener questions. This week you asked: 🗳️ Is Australia’s ageing population creating a scenario of democratic failure? 🏛️ What does the latest Victorian Liberal Party turmoil say about the party’s internal culture and ability to govern? ✡️ Do Adam and Adir consider themselves practising Jews, culturally Jewish, or somewhere in bet...

Adam and Adir break down whether Canva has missed its golden window to sell, why Karl’s split with Nine might be a brilliant media move, and how the government’s startup tax carve-outs could smash founders and employees. Plus, Will joins for a quick behind-the-scenes update on The Contrarians as a standalone media business.   00:00 - Update from Will 18:00 - Choosing a Chair for a...

Scott Middleton from Terem Capital joins Adam and Adir to break down Accent Group’s business model, the strength of The Athlete’s Foot, the Hoka opportunity, the Glue Store write-off, the risks in fashion retail, and whether Frasers is trying to buy the company too cheaply. Join us on Substack for articles, news and more: https://www.thecontrarianspod.com/ See omnystudio.com/listener f...

The guys discuss KPMG’s spectacular implosion, Labor’s chaotic CGT Reverse Ferret, the ATO’s small business scare campaign, Big W’s surprisingly good AI chatbot, Ferrari’s electric future, and Adore Beauty’s brutal market reality. 00:00 - LinkedIn Thoughts 09:15 - Startup Cities Quiz 15:00 - Big W Chat Bot Experience 27:50 - ATO Small Business Ads 30:00 - Labor'...

Happy Saturday! It’s time for another round of listener Q&A. This week you asked: 💉 As GLP-1s and peptides become more widespread, which industries could be most affected over the next decade? 🤖 Why are younger people becoming so angry about AI being framed as “the next big thing”? 🛋️ Is modern life now optimised for comfort at the expense of meaning? Got something you want...

00:00 - Catapult Powering the World Cup 04:00 - EOFY Sales 08:45 - Taxis + Uber Decision 18:00 - Sleep Question 23:00 - $1 Trillion vs $1 Billion 27:00 - Robyn Denholm 40:00 - CGT Changes + Impact on Startups 52:45 - VicRoads Fail 54:15 - Xero 1:04:00 - SpaceX 1:17:44.100 - Tim Wilson joins The Contrarians   Join us on Substack for articles, news and more: https://www.thecontrarianspod.com/ S...

Happy Saturday! We’re back with another round of listener Q&A. This week you asked: 🏨 Why can some aggregators undercut the original seller, while others charge customers a premium? 📈 Has the budget changed the incentives for investors taking risk on growth stocks? 🛒 With Barbeques Galore entering administration, are Aussie consumers pulling back harder than the data suggests? Have a...

Adam and Adir go deep on SkinKandy, share the latest on the budget, look at the murder of young Brit Henry Nowak and announce which listener has won a $500 Luxury Escapes voucher. 00:00 - The Government's Fuel Solution? 13:00 - Labor's Fall in Victoria 17:42 - More Budget Fallout 40:46 - Police Racism in the UK 53:44 - SkinKandy (Deep Dive) Join us on Substack for articles, news and more: https://...

Matt Heine, CEO of Netwealth, joins Adam Schwab and Adir Shiffman for a deep dive into one of Australia’s most impressive technology and financial services success stories. Join us on Substack for articles, news and more: https://www.thecontrarianspod.com/   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Adam and Adir sit down with Frank Greef, the man who led the LinkedIn campaign against the government’s disastrous budget—and copped a slap from Albo and the Nine papers for his trouble. Plus, the guys break down the latest from OpenAI and Anthropic, the looming SpaceX float, SexyLand’s unsexy financials, and an update on Corporate Travel Management. Stick around to find out how...

SiteMinder has been caught in the ASX tech sell-off, but the hotel software business may be stronger than its share price suggests. Adam, Adir and Scott Middleton from Terem Capital break down the company’s subscription revenue, transaction growth, AI risk, valuation, profitability, and whether the market has overreacted. Join us on Substack for articles, news and more: https://www.thecontra...

Adam and Adir welcome The Contrarian’s new CEO, discuss the federal budget and get clear on who loves it (and why), catch up on Guzman y Gomez and why leaving the US is the right call, and talk through the EY parental rort and what good parental leave should look like. Join us on Substack for articles, news and more: https://www.thecontrarianspod.com/ 00:00 - Will Hayward joins The Contraria...

Happy Saturday! We’re back with another batch of listener questions. This week you asked: 🌏 With Adam and Adir increasingly frustrated about life in Australia, have they ever seriously considered leaving for somewhere like Singapore or the UAE? 🏠 As a late-30s renter in Sydney with a young family, how should the recent budget shape thinking about the future? 💰 With CGT changes increasing...

The guys discuss Australia's Federal Budget Horror Show and why young people are the hardest hit, Xero's highly paid CEO fails again as share price slumps, Atlassian rebounds (a little), Temple & Webster downgraded and Lime Bike prepares to IPO 00:00 - Budget Chat 48:39 - Temple & Webster 54:40 - Xero CEO 1:00:02 - Atlassian 1:03:40 - Deep Dive: Lime Bikes Thanks for listening! Join us on...

Happy Saturday! We’re back with another Q&A episode of the show. This week you asked: 💸 With China rolling out a programmable digital currency, could this become a serious fiscal policy tool in Australia too? 🏷️ What’s the best pathway for selling a small, profitable VC-backed business that’s no longer growing fast enough? 🛒 How much does store layout really affect retail s...

The guys deep dive into the horrific changes to CGT and how it destroys young people’s chance at wealth, negative gearing out for the young and in for Boomers, how SBF became the world’s best investor, are fibre optics going to kill Droneshield, Hamish Douglass’ redemption and world record marathon’s can’t save running shoes. 00:00 - Intro 4:35 - Mother's Day Run 6:00...

Happy Saturday! We’re back with another Q&A episode of the show. This week you asked: 🤷‍♂️ My boss is working from home but my team is in the office. 🏠 Do we feel sympathy for young people not feeling financially secure? 💭 Dealing with loss and it’s impact on work and mental wellbeing We love our listener questions. Drop us anything you want answered for our n...

The guys discuss Cochlear's horrific profit downgrade, Firmus IPO hopes up in smoke (for now), self driving to challenge air travel, battery technology goes large and Uber and Expedia get close. 00:00 - Blackbird's Sunrise Start Up Event 13:40 - Firmus 32:50 - Uber x Expedia 42:55 - Public Transport 44:55 - CATL 53:36 - Self Driving vs. Flying 1:02:46 - Experience Economy 1:12:57 - Cochlea Deep Di...

Happy Saturday! We’re back with another Q&A episode of the show. This week you asked: 🧱 Are classic trades the most AI proof career path? 🗂️ Taking on more responsibility at work with no extra compensation 🚨 Donald Trump’s recent assassination attempt Thanks for listening! Join us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-contrarians-with-adam-and-adir-podc...

The guys deep dive into Heidi Health, Canva’s Big Dog and Pony Show, is Mecca Australia’s Best Business, Labor tries and fails to curb NDIS largesse, CTM debacle just got a whole lot worse, Temple & Webster changes CEOs and Microsoft’s Co Pilot embarrassment. Thanks to our sponsor Acquire Intelligence - visit https://acquire.ai/contrarians See omnystudio.com/listener for priv...

Happy Saturday! We’re back with another Q&A episode of the show. This week you asked: 👔 Is AI going to remove entry level jobs? 📸 What is the value of a personal brand? 🏠 Property isn’t productive! Got a question you want answered? Drop it in the comments! Thanks to our sponsor Acquire Intelligence - visit https://acquire.ai/contrarians   Thanks for listening! Joi...

Steve Baxter joins the pod to discuss his incredible story and why the best investments are the least popular, Anthropic kind of drops Mythos, Adir’s deep dive into encryption, Pope Leo vs Donald Trump, how investible are data centres, are trains dead and has Hermes jumped the shark? ---- Thanks to our sponsor Acquire Intelligence - visit https://acquire.ai/contrarians We want to know more a...

Happy Saturday! We’re back with another Q&A episode of the show. This week you asked: 👨‍🔬 How much research do you do when investing in a public company? 📢 What justifies a Prime Minister’s public address? 🥺 Leaving friends behind in a workplace Got a question you want answered? Drop it in the comments! Thanks to our sponsor Acquire Intelligence - visit https...