Advertise on podcast: From Zero with Adam Schwab

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 [email protected] See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 [email protected] See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 [email protected] See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 [email protected] See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.