From side hustles to hobby businesses, scalability is one of businesses' great challenges. Hear from Luxury Escapes founder Adam Schwab in another episode of Ask Adam Anything. 

0:50 - "Are you optimistic about the future of NFTs? Or will the crash continue?" 

10:39 - "I have a small retail business that I don't have too much time for - is there a way I can scale the business whilst still working a 9 - 5?"

What would happen if Adam Schwab ran for premier? And what would his first point of action be?

If Adam Schwab was premier of Victoria

An inheritance comes your way, must be nice - but what to do with it? Plus, founding a business is always easier with a partner, but how do you decide who to found with? 

(0:50) How does your relationship with your co-founder Jeremy work?

(6:30) How to invest $20,000

This is not financial advice.

How you should invest your inheritance

A tough conversation to have, but sometimes necessary. When is it appropriate? And how should you do it? As well, performance based shares, what is their purpose and when should you ask for them? 

(0:50) - "How do I ask my boss for a pay-rise?"

(10:10) - "What are the positives and negatives of asking for performance based shares?" 

How to ask your boss for a pay rise

How to scale your side hustle business

Has the global giant fallen? If so, how are we evaluating it now? High, low, or just right? 

Adam Schwab is joined by founder of Catapult Sports Adir Shiffman. 

The rise and somewhat fall of Atlassian

Adir Shiffman rejoins Adam Schwab for another episode of start up insider, this time to unpack the up and down world of e-commerce.

Making sense of Australia's e-commerce sector

In this 'Ask Adam Anything' episode, hear host and Luxury Escapes founder Adam Schwab answer your business questions:

(0:50) What should I do after high school? Is it okay to take a gap year? 

(9:15) I'm wary of the risks of starting a business - can you outline the risks and what could possibly go wrong? 

How to be a founder straight out of high school

Chief Investment Officer of The Motley Fool, Scott Phillips offers insight into timing the market, whether it's possible and whether it's a good plan of attack for your portfolio.

Scott is the host of The Good Oil podcast, an inside look into finance, business, start ups and economics. 

Find it wherever you get your podcasts

When to buy, when to sell, and can you time the market?

In this 'Ask Adam Anything' episode, hear host and Luxury Escapes founder Adam Schwab answer your business questions:

- What is the business viability of outsourcing away from Australia? (0:55)

- When to buy and when to sell? (9:45)

Ask Adam Anything: How to time the market and the structure of outsourcing from Australia

Ordering, delivering, building - almost every aspect of online furniture shopping is a friction point. But amazingly, online furniture store BROSA has found a way to smooth out almost all the pain points. But how have they done it? 

Ivan Lim is the co-founder of BROSA and drove the revolutionary furniture retailer to where it is today. Join host Adam Schwab as he unpacks the world of Ivan Lim and BROSA.

How Ivan Lim and BROSA changed the way you buy furniture

Is there a second wind coming? Where did the crash come from? What is the industry looking to do next?

In a special episode of From Zero, Adir Schiffman joins Adam Schwab to breakdown the controversial Buy Now Pay Later sector.

What's happened to Buy Now Pay Later?

When covid swept the world, businesses had to move quickly. Not many moved as quickly as Mr Yum. 

The QR code to web platform that allows you to order food from your table had been around for a few years before covid. But, it wasn't until the pandemic had caused nationwide lockdowns did we see just how good the business and technology really was. 

Co-founder Kimberley Teo talks to Adam Schwab, and breaks down her founders story - from the corporate grind, to being inspired by her parents.

How Kim Teo's Mr Yum executed Australia's great business pivot

In this 'Ask Adam Anything' episode, hear host and Luxury Escapes founder Adam Schwab answer your business questions:

- What do you think the Australian tech eco system could do to produce more unicorn's like Atlassian and Canva? (0:50)

- How do you assess founders when they have no revenue or product to invest in? (5:00)

Ask Adam Anything: Pre-seed investing, VC minimum investments, Aussie unicorns

Instagram had a problem, and LinkTree provided a solution. But is it really that simple? How was it founded? What were the steps from dev to publish?

Anthony Zaccaria has always been embedded in the music industry. From his upbringing with his tight knit Italian family , to his time after university, til the founding of LinkTree, the Zaccaria's have absorbed the industry and understood the pain points of a complex ecosystem. After shuffling from digital marketing and then to band management, and now start ups, Anthony has experience and is a superstar in the Aussie start up economy. But staying humble, working hard and focusing on family is a part of who Anthony is, and he always finds a way to have those values present. 

Adam Schwab talks to Anthony about those family values, and how they're present now - as well as how he and the LinkTree team are tackling new and unique problems in a 2022 economy.  

How Anthony Zaccaria co-founded LinkTree and revolutionised an industry

In this 'Ask Adam Anything' episode, hear host and Luxury Escapes founder Adam Schwab answer your business questions:
When you're bringing on a co-founder, should you choose someone you know or someone you don't know but whose skillset aligns with yours? (00:47)
What do you look for in an early stage start-up that you're investing in? (8:30)
Do you look out for different things when the start-up is pre or post revenue? (8:43)
How do you determine what payback period is most optimal for a new customer? (20:39)
What's the right amount of cash for a growth stage company to have on a balance sheet? (21:08)

If you have a business question you'd like Adam's help with, send a voice note to info@fromzeropodcast.com

Ask Adam Anything: choosing a co-founder, investing in start-ups and the ideal payback period

From Brazil to Sydney, Dr. Julio Ribeiro has totally revolutionised two industries and created hundreds of millions of dollars of value, while potentially saving thousands of lives.

Hear how Julio founded Inventia Life Sciences, a game-changing product that allows drug companies to massively speed up treatments for cancer.

Host Adam Schwab speaks with Julio to hear what brought him to Australia, how he went from working with cattle to cancer cells and how he has built Inventia Life Sciences into a business that is changing the game for hospitals and patients. 

How Dr. Julio Ribeiro is using 3-D printers to revolutionise cancer treatment

In this 'Ask Adam Anything' episode, hear host and Luxury Escapes founder Adam Schwab answer your business questions:
Should I try to get a warm introduction to an investor or is it worth reaching out cold? (00:50)
Once you land the meeting with the investor, what's the most important thing to convey in your pitch?(1:03)
How did you identified what your team needed in the early days of Luxury Escapes? (7:58)
How did you sell your vision to your team? (8:07)
Do you sell your vision differently now vs when you first started? (8:13)
How do I best plan for a software transformation? (15:22)

If you have a business question you'd like Adam's help with, send a voice note to info@fromzeropodcast.com

Ask Adam Anything: How To Sell Your Vision, Investor Pitch Must-Haves and Building the Perfect Team

What do you do when your business folds? Domm Holland picks up and starts again.

Domm burst onto the scene with his marketplace called Tow, which became the 'Uber of towing'. After a dispute with the Queensland Government, the business wasn’t able to survive but incredibly, Dom had a second act, when he moved to Silicon Valley to launch his next business: the one-stop online checkout solution Fast.

Despite raising more than $100 million and briefly becoming a unicorn, Fast was not able to survive and was forced to shut its doors.

In this episode, which was recorded just weeks before Tow collapsed, Domm speaks with host Adam Schwab about building resilience as a kid, why his ideas were always too big for Australian VCs and his grand plans for Fast.

The Grittiest Guy in Tech: How Domm Holland fell and rose and fell again

In this 'Ask Adam Anything' episode, hear host and Luxury Escapes founder Adam Schwab answer your business questions:
What is the most overrated trait that's valued by investors? (00:48)
Advice for Aussie start up with a direct competitor in the US (00:57)
My business is expanding quickly. Should I continue bootstrapping it or raise capital? (8:24)
What do I need to consider when I'm thinking about making an acquisition? (8:56)
What are some healthy habits that make you a successful founder? (17:24)

If you have a business question you'd like Adam's help with, send a voice note to info@fromzeropodcast.com

Ask Adam Anything: When Should I Raise Capital?, Overrated Traits in Founders & Healthy Habits for Success

Seek and Square Peg Capital are just a few of the credits to Paul Bassat's name...and he's not done yet.

Paul was a lawyer before he made the first big pivot of his career: he took a bet that the internet would replace newspaper classifieds...and the bet paid off. Paul built Australia's largest job-seeking site, Seek, from a St Kilda office with his brother Andrew in the 1990s. When he was at the top of his game at Seek, he made his next big pivot and founded the venture capital firm Square Peg Capital.

In this episode, Paul speaks with host Adam Schwab about leaving a safe career in law to start his own business before start-ups were cool, learning James Packer wanted to invest in Seek and what drew him to invest in Canva and ROKT.

Paul Bassat transformed job seeking and venture capital in Australia

In this 'Ask Adam Anything' episode, hear host and Luxury Escapes founder Adam Schwab answer your business questions:
What trends have you noticed from all the interviews you've done that under-30's should pay attention to?
When should founders pay themselves a wage? How much is too much?
Can great businesses start from side hustles?

If you have a business question you'd like Adam's help with, send a voice note to info@fromzeropodcast.com

Ask Adam Anything: What Should Founders Pay Themselves?, Should I Start A Side Hustle? Best Advice for New Founders

Most people wouldn’t dream of building one billion dollar business, let alone two. Bruce Buchanan may just be Australia’s best ever business builder.

A natural entrepreneur, Bruce began his professional career as a consultant at Boston Consulting Group, before going on to create one of the world’s most successful airlines, Jetstar. Now, almost 10 years later, he's bought a tiny ad tech business called Rocklive and within a few years has turned it into ROKT - a US$2.5 billion global giant.

In this episode, Bruce speaks with host Adam Schwab about his difficult childhood, why a chance meeting with Qantas CEO Alan Joyce changed everything, and what’s next on his great vision list. 

How Bruce Buchanan built two multi-billion dollar global giants

When you think hospitality…you necessarily think of a billion dollar empire.

But restaurateur Chris Lucas has reinvented what it means to create a successful hospitality kingdom his group Lucas Restaurants. Chris' resume includes some of Australia's most popular and successful restaurants, including Chin Chin, Hawker Hall, Society, The Botanical and One Fitzroy Street.

In this episode, Chris talks about learning his trade working in his Dad's pubs, a successful corporate career at IBM, building and selling the telecommunications company Primus before pivoting to hospitality and bringing life back to Melbourne after COVID lockdowns.

How Chris Lucas became the King of the Australian Restaurant Scene

How do you learn how sell stuff online when it hasn't been done before? And then how do you convince people to buy your products?

Gabby Leibovich did just that – and in the process, with his brother Hezi, became one of Australia's best online retailers. Gabby and Hezi separately started selling products on eBay in the early 2000s, before joining forces to create Catch Of The Day – fifteen years later, and the eCommerce giant has become a multi-billion dollar business.

In this episode, Gabby talks about growing up in a war zone, how raising $80 million from Tiger Global and James Packer changed his life and how he became the master of PR.

Gabby Leibovich took a chance on Catch Of The Day...and it paid off

When new businesses are created every day, how do you know which ones will become world beaters?

Niki Scevak is one of Australia’s most successful venture capitalists. Niki founded Australia’s best incubator, Startmate, in 2010, and two years later, created VC giant, Blackbird. Blackbird has been at the forefront of Australia’s venture sector for a decade, investing in Canva, Culture Amp and Safety Culture.

In this episode Niki shares with host Adam Schwab about being college roommates with Atlassian founder Mike Cannon-Brookes, his own incredible entrepreneurial journey through three start-ups across two continents, and why it's more meaningful for him to see other entrepreneurs succeed than to make money.

Investing in Australia's hottest businesses with Blackbird’s Niki Scevak

How do you go from working on your family's apple orchard in regional Queensland, to working as a veterinary surgeon, to becoming one of Australia's greatest founders?

Graham 'Skroo' Turner co-founded Flight Centre in the early 1980's and has seen it become one of Australia's most successful businesses, turning over more than 20 billion of dollars annually 

In this episode, hear how Skroo founded his first business, the group travel company Topdeck in the UK before returning to Australia and building Flight Centre from just one store into the juggernaut it is today and how he survived COVID.

Graham 'Skroo' Turner built Flight Centre into a multi-billion dollar business

How do you get people to notice your crowdfunding campaign when the thing you're raising money for is toilet paper?

Simon Griffiths has created one of Australia’s fastest growing and most exciting companies by selling on of most boring products - toilet paper.

Not only has Simon, along with his two co-founders created what could soon be a unicorn, they have also donated more than ten million dollars to build critical sanitation facilities in the developing world.

Hear how Simon, Jehan and Danny built Who Gives a Crap into a global giant, from a $50,000 crowd funding campaign in 2012 to businesses across three continents, and how they balance making a difference and creating a sustainable businesses.

Simon Griffiths spent 50 hours on a toilet to crowdfund Who Gives A Crap

What do you get when you take two mates who love traveling, $20,000 and a goal to make adventure holidays easier for people? Intrepid Group, now the world's largest adventure travel company.

Darrell spent his early career working for big businesses when he wasn’t traveling the world. That was until an epic trip across Africa in a converted truck convinced him to start what would become the Intrepid Group, one of the world’s most loved travel businesses.

In this episode Darrell shares the exclusive story of how he met his lifelong business partner Geoff (Manch) Manchester, their first backpacking trips, guiding Intrepid through SARS and COVID and balancing a successful business with altruism.

Darrell Wade turned backpacking into a million-dollar career with Intrepid

What does it take to build a multi-million-dollar business?

Fred grew up playing video games and managed to teach himself how to build websites. He turned his web design and marketing business into the international giant comparison site Finder.com.

In this episode Fred shares with Adam about surviving on tinned pasta during the early days of the business, how he grew as a leader, pivoting the business and becoming one of the earliest adopters of cryptocurrency in Australia and a global phenomenon.   

Fred Schebesta went from sleeping on floors to Finder.com and the AFR Young Rich List

How do you go from selling muesli to a few cafes in your neighbourhood to over 30 countries around the world?

Carolyn bought Carman's for $1,000 when she was 18. In the past 20 years she's built it into one of Australia's most well-known and well-loved gourmet food brands.

In this episode Carolyn shares with Adam about what she learned from working on the Coles checkout as a teenager, building Carman's from the ground up without a cent of external funding and how she's learned to become a leader of an incredibly successful team.

Carolyn Creswell bought Carman’s for $1,000

What do you do when your business makes cinema merchandise…and cinemas close around the world overnight? You make something else.

Pete Cleary created Zinc Group and built it from a dream in a business plan to a workplace consistently voted as one of the best in Australia.

In this episode Pete speaks to Adam Schwab about standing up for what he believes in, building a business that people love to work for and remaining in business (and thriving) through worldwide COVID-19 shutdowns.

Pete Cleary made 100 million for Zinc Group by selling PPE during COVID

How do you combine a background in medicine with a deep curiosity about technology?

Marcus Tan has done just that with Australia’s largest health marketplace, Health Engine. In the space of a decade, Marcus grew Health Engine from tiny start-up to an online giant, with one in four Australians regularly booking their doctor, dentist or physio through Health Engine.

In this episode Marcus shares the challenges of building an online marketplace from his own savings, pivoting the business from medical directory to booking site and then somehow convincing thousands of GPs to accept online bookings. And just when the business was flying, Marcus had to deal with an existential threat and grow as a leader and founder through the most difficult period in the business’ existence.

Marcus Tan from Health Engine is the king of Australian health marketplaces

How do you create an online trading site in the early days of the internet and then convince people to sell their cars on it?

Greg spent twenty years running Carsales.com from a tiny start-up to one the world’s leading automotive marketplaces, worth almost $6 billion.

Host Adam Schwab talks to Greg about going from playing with computers as a kid to working on one of the first digital accounting systems to building Carsales.com. Hear how Greg mortgaged his home, brought on James Packer as a major investor and how he has coped with life after Carsales.

Greg Roebuck built Carsales.com into a multi-billion business

What does it take to create and maintain Australia’s largest online retailer?

David Shafer is co-founder, COO and CFO of Kogan.com, Australia’s largest home-grown ecommerce business.

Kogan.com grew from nothing, to be worth more than a billion dollars in little more than a decade with more than three million Australians purchasing something from Kogan in the last year.

Hear how David Shafer and school friend, Ruslan Kogan, survived a near death experience and made a bunch of bold bets to create Australia’s largest online retailer. And why David and Ruslan prefer to focus on the business fundamentals than the company’s rampaging share price.

David Shafer and Kogan: 1 in 5 Aussies visit the site every month

How do you balance success in business with your passion for helping people?

It’s hard enough to create one successful start-up. Jane Martino has created three: Undertow, Shout and Smiling Mind. Jane joins host Adam Schwab to talk about how she started her first business before she was 25, how she co-founded Smiling Mind before turning it into Australia’s number one wellness app and how she built and sold Shout to one of Australia’s largest banks. Hear her inspirational journey to becoming one of Australia’s favourite founders and angel investors.

Jane Martino went from working in retail to co-founding Smiling Mind

How do you get your business noticed by the biggest names in sport around the world?

A born entrepreneur, Adir has been launching incredible businesses since he was a kid. He also found time to study medicine, work as an ER doctor, found and sell successful businesses including Global Reviews and Help Me Choose and join a fledgling sports data business and help turn it into the ASX-listed global giant: Catapult Sports.  

Adir tells Adam Schwab how he went from saving lives to becoming one of the world’s top people in sport business, almost losing everything during the Global Financial Crisis and bouncing back from the brink.

Adir Shiffman grew Catapult Sports from start-up to global giant

Luxury Escapes co-founder and financial journalist Adam Schwab speaks with business founders to get the real stories behind their successes and setbacks.

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