The Contrarians with Adam and Adir

How does Adir Shiffman seem to know something about almost every business? What makes a great CEO? And why does he think most companies misunderstand strategy, sales and marketing? Will joins Adir for a special episode of The Contrarians, asking the questions he's always wanted to ask about how Adir thinks, learns and approaches building successful businesses. They start with Adir's famously broad knowledge, why he doesn't prepare for the podcast, how he researches unfamiliar industries and the ways he uses AI to learn.Then they get into the practical side of running a company: when founders should hire a CEO, why replacing a founder can go horribly wrong, what strategy actually means, how to hire your first salesperson and why relationships could become even more valuable in the age of AI. There's also a fascinating discussion about work-life balance, happiness, ambition, building a consumer brand from scratch and why great marketing starts on day one. Plus, Adir shares some of the books and podcasts that have influenced the way he thinks.Whether you're a founder, investor, executive or simply interested in how great businesses are built, there's plenty to take away from this conversation. CHAPTERS 02:12 - How Adir Learns, Thinks and Uses AI 13:54 - What Makes a Great CEO? 25:33 - Business Strategy, Growth and Ambition 36:42 - Sales, Marketing and Building a Great Business Enjoyed this conversation with Adir? Catch our recent special episode where Will sits down with Adam Schwab to discuss how he runs Luxury Escapes, builds high-performing teams and approaches business strategy. How Adam Runs Luxury Escapes and Builds Great Teams Listen on Apple Podcasts:https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/id1703720734?i=1000797825812 Read or listen on The Contrarians: https://www.thecontrarianspod.com/p/how-adam-runs-luxury-escapes-and-986 Catapult Sports: https://www.catapult.com/BlueRock:https://www.bluerock.com.au/thecontrarians Acquire Intelligence: https://acquire.ai/contrarians Mastercard: https://www.mastercard.com.au/ Aura Group: https://www.aura.co/ Join us on Substack for articles, news and more:https://www.thecontrarianspod.com/

Gold is having a moment. Prices have been soaring, investors are piling in, and one Australian business is right in the middle of it all. In this special Deep Dive episode of The Contrarians, Adam Schwab and Adir Shiffman sit down with Jordan Eliseo, General Manager of ABC Bullion, to get a proper look inside Australia's gold industry. ABC Bullion is part of Pallion Group, an Australian precious metals powerhouse that has generated an extraordinary $38 billion in annual revenue. But how does a business like this actually work? Where does all the gold come from? Who's buying it, and what happens to it once it's refined? Jordan takes us through the entire process, from refining and manufacturing to bullion trading, investing and secure storage. The boys also get into the bigger questions. Why has gold held its value for thousands of years? Is Bitcoin really digital gold? How does gold compare with Australian property, shares and cash? And with prices already surging, could gold still have much further to run? Plus, we explore what a gold bar is actually worth, how everyday Australians can invest in physical gold, and take a look inside the world of private gold vaulting. A fascinating conversation about one of the world's oldest assets and the Australian businesses helping power the modern gold economy. CHAPTERS 00:00 - Inside Australia's $38 Billion Gold Empire 07:00 - Physical Gold vs Gold ETFs: How Does Investing Work? 13:06 - Why Gold Holds Its Value (and Is Bitcoin Digital Gold?) 24:31 - Gold vs Property, Inflation and How to Buy Gold LINKS ABC Bullion: https://www.abcbullion.com/ ABC Bullion Insights and Market Research: https://www.abcbullion.com/insights The Contrarians: https://www.thecontrarianspod.com/ **SPONSORED EPISODE** This episode is proudly sponsored by ABC Bullion. Thanks to ABC Bullion and Jordan Eliseo for supporting The Contrarians and helping us keep our content free. Thanks for listening! Follow The Contrarians on LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.

It's another massive week in tech, and Adam and Adir have plenty to get stuck into. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is facing some uncomfortable questions following reports of a relationship with a suspected Chinese intelligence asset. Could the controversy threaten his position at one of the world's most valuable companies? Meanwhile, the AI boom is showing signs of slowing down. Spending growth is flattening, Apple is reportedly tightening its AI budgets, and investors are getting nervous about Anthropic's enormous potential IPO valuation. The boys debate whether AI companies can keep spending at this pace, and whether AI agents are actually worth all the hype. There's also a look at Atlassian's latest results, where some surprisingly strong numbers weren't enough to stop the share price taking a beating. Then, they're joined by Sam Kroonenburg, the Australian entrepreneur who co-founded A Cloud Guru and sold it for more than US$2 billion at just about the perfect time. Sam shares how he knew when to sell, why taking money off the table early was one of his smartest decisions, and what he's learned building his next business, AI advertising platform Cuttable. Plus, Adir has a bone to pick with the Bureau of Meteorology, the boys revisit the troubles facing Australia's department stores, and Will shares what's been happening behind the scenes as The Contrarians grows on YouTube. CHAPTERS 01:46 - Jensen Huang's Nvidia controversy and the future of the AI boom09:08 - Adir takes on the Bureau of Meteorology15:26 - The Contrarians' YouTube growth and the business of podcasting29:27 - AI spending slows and the hype around AI agents43:10 - Anthropic's trillion-dollar IPO problem54:31 - Atlassian's surprising results and share price crash01:03:01 - Sam Kroonenburg on his $2 billion exit, Cuttable and building startups LINKS Sam Kroonenburg's AI advertising platform Cuttable:https://www.cuttable.com/ The Contrarians:https://www.thecontrarianspod.com/ OUR PARTNERS BlueRock – Business and wealth advice:https://www.bluerock.com.au/thecontrarians/ Acquire Intelligence – AI, automation and outsourcing:https://acquire.ai/contrarians Mastercard – Small business payments and resources:https://www.mastercard.com/au/en/business/industry-segment/small-medium-business.html Aura Group – Private credit:https://aura.co/ Thanks for listening! Follow The Contrarians on LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.

It's been a brutal week for Australia's tech sector. Just days after Canva announced a major restructure affecting 22% of its workforce, AI healthcare unicorn Heidi Health has revealed plans to cut 18% of its staff, following the departure of two co-founders. All this shortly after a major capital raise that valued the business at more than $1 billion. Adam and Adir unpack what's going wrong at Australia's most celebrated startups, whether the venture capital industry encouraged unsustainable growth, and why mass redundancies can permanently damage the relationship between companies and their employees. They also revisit Canva's controversial return-to-office changes, debate whether founders should be blamed for overhiring, and question whether the optimism surrounding Australia's tech unicorns is finally coming back to earth. Plus, SafetyCulture, now known as Mitti, has reported slowing growth and another substantial loss. With a previous valuation of $2.4 billion, can the business make the numbers stack up? CHAPTERS 01:26 - Heidi Health's shock layoffs and the Australian tech reckoning 06:46 - Blackbird, startup valuations and the cost of overhiring 19:37 - Canva's redundancies, return-to-office controversy and employee trust 27:15 - SafetyCulture's $2.4 billion valuation problem Thanks for listening!

Canva has announced the biggest organisational shake-up in its history, with 1,271 people, or 22% of its global workforce, affected by redundancies, role changes and relocations. It comes after a brutal year for Australia's biggest private technology company. Reported internal figures suggest Canva's annualised revenue has stalled around US$3.7 billion while monthly active users have fallen by 12 million year-on-year, as increasingly powerful AI tools challenge its core design business. Adam and Adir jump on for an emergency episode to unpack what the restructure really means, why Adir thinks this could be a move for survival rather than simple cost-cutting, and how AI has changed the economics of Canva's famous freemium model. They also discuss what a major Canva downturn could mean for Australia's technology ecosystem, the dilemma facing employees holding private Canva stock, whether the company missed its "golden window", and what Mel Perkins and Cliff Obrecht need to do next. CHAPTERS 00:08 - Canva's 22% Workforce Overhaul10:09 - Is Canva Fighting for Survival?20:01 - Canva's Golden Window and What Comes Next Join us on Substack for articles, news and more:https://www.thecontrarianspod.com/

Could Australian interest rates really hit 6%? Adam and Adir look at the renewed inflation problem, why retailers are feeling the squeeze and what the trouble at David Jones says about the Australian economy. Then they pull apart the 2026 AFR Young Rich List, questioning the valuations behind some of Australia's biggest young fortunes, from Canva and Firmus to Immutable and Nscale. Plus, OpenAI falls well short of its latest fundraising target, Anthropic's economics come under the microscope again, and Adam and Adir debate whether AI represents a genuine threat to Google's extraordinary search business. CHAPTERS 01:26 - Victoria, the Election and Muslim Vote Matters12:14 - Could Australian Interest Rates Hit 6%?18:52 - Eden's View From the Real Economy23:56 - Australia's Retail Slowdown31:53 - David Jones on the Brink39:26 - The 2026 Young Rich List59:00 - OpenAI's $30bn Funding Problem01:08:41 - The Anthropic Economics Question01:17:51 - Google Search vs AI01:38:37 - Reddit and the AI Traffic Problem LINKS Mastercard:https://www.mastercard.com/smallbusinessau Acquire Intelligence:https://acquire.ai/contrarians BlueRock:https://www.bluerock.com.au/thecontrarians Join us on Substack for articles, news and more:https://www.thecontrarianspod.com/

Myer is bringing its corporate staff back to the office five days a week, and Adam and Adir think it says something bigger about where the power now sits between employers and employees. They also ask what Netflix actually is now that its explosive growth years appear to be slowing, whether its competitive advantage can survive YouTube and an increasingly crowded streaming market, and why the former FANG stock may ultimately become a very different kind of business. Then billionaire matchmaker Lauren Hunter joins the pod to explain how she finds partners for celebrities, politicians and ultra-wealthy clients. She talks about clients with 150 non-negotiables, parents secretly hiring her for their children, screening out gold diggers, post-date feedback, $25,000 searches and the $350,000 package for billionaires. CHAPTERS 02:21 - Myer Ends WFH and the Employer Power Shift11:30 - Netflix's Growth Problem and the Streaming Wars28:36 - Lauren Hunter: Billionaire Matchmaking LINKS Mastercard:https://www.mastercard.com/smallbusinessau Acquire Intelligence:https://acquire.ai/contrarians BlueRock:https://www.bluerock.com.au/thecontrarians Join us on Substack for articles, news and more:https://www.thecontrarianspod.com/

Adam and Adir sit down with Brett Craig from Aura Group to unpack what private credit actually is, why the industry exploded after the GFC and how non-bank lenders are filling a funding gap left by Australia’s major banks. Brett explains Aura’s “lending to lenders” model, why liquidity mismatches can force private credit funds to gate withdrawals, how invoice financing works, and why Aura even lends against sheep and cattle. They also discuss Australia’s estimated $250 billion business funding gap, the recent backlash against private credit, risk, diversification and what investors should actually look for inside these funds. All information provided for use by Wholesale Clients and is for educational purposes only.  It does not take into account the investment objectives, financial situation or needs of any individual investor.  Information is provided by Aura Capital Pty Ltd ABN 48 143 700 887 | AFS Licence 366230. Wholesale strategy performance since inception is 9.42% pa as at 30 September 2026 net of fees and expenses since inception date 1 August 2017. Returns assume reinvestment of all distributions. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance and capital and income is not guaranteed. CHAPTERS 00:00 - Why Private Credit Funds Get Gated 10:55 - Why Private Credit Funds Get Into Trouble 21:39 - Choosing Lenders, Tough Markets and Investor Access Join us on Substack for articles, news and more: https://www.thecontrarianspod.com/

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/

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/