The Contrarians with Adam and Adir

Adam and Adir debate whether founders and senior executives should be allowed to sit on external boards while running a business, before turning to the coming pressure on big law fees as AI starts breaking the traditional leverage model. They also unpack Yo-Chi’s extraordinary rise, its reported billion-dollar-plus valuation, global expansion plans, store economics, and why timing, product and execution can turn a good retail concept into a monster business.

01:05 - The CEO Board Seat Debate
09:26 - AI Comes For Big Law
24:29 - Yo-Chi’s $2bn Valuation
29:54 - Why Yo-Chi Worked
38:55 - Yo-Chi’s Global Upside

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Adam and Adir unpack Expert360’s painful sale, why founders need to think carefully about golden windows, and what CTM’s return to the ASX says about survival, short sellers and investor risk. They also dig into Iran’s blockade problem, student politics at Monash, Alastair Clarkson’s messy North Melbourne exit, and the athlete rich list quiz that turns into a bigger conversation about brand, equity and celebrity power.
00:00 - Intro
12:20 - Alistair Clarkson & North Melbourne
25:08 - Student Politics at Monash
36:17 - The Athlete Rich List Quiz
50:30 - Iran and the Straight of Hormuz
1:02:30 - Expert360
1:16:04 - CTM
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Try Braze

Australia’s retail stocks are getting smashed, but Adam and Adir think the sell-off could finally be creating opportunities in businesses like JB Hi-Fi, Kogan and Koala.
Meanwhile, Cettire has lost 95% of its value in two years and its latest results raise even more questions about how long the luxury retailer can keep going.
00:00 Australian Retail Stocks Are Getting Smashed12:41 Kogan, Temple & Webster and Koala16:40 Cettire’s Collapse & The Art of Contrarian Investing
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Try Braze

Adam and Adir unpack the investor fight building around Canva, AirTree and the painful question of when early backers should finally get liquidity. They also dig into Xero’s shareholder revolt, Corporate Travel Management’s surprise rescue deal, Zoox’s lost upside, the return of hardware startups, and why Disney might be one of the rare businesses with almost every major competitive power.
00:00 - Defcon Merch and Tansu’s First Week
07:14 - Zoox
16:31 - Vanguard Smart Glasses
23:05 - Leo Esaki's Five Don'ts
27:47 - Disney's Hidden Powers
35:53 - GTA VI
43:13 - Eureka Pet Co.
48:20 - Victoria's Crime Problem
58:04 - Canva
1:13:19 - Xero's Shareholder Revolt
1:20:40 - CTM
The first 20 listeners to use code "TCfirst20" at Tanssu.com will redeem the offer mentioned in this week's episode: https://www.tanssu.com/discount/TCfirst20. Add “The Set” to your cart in any colour. Then at checkout, the code will remove the cost of the tote.
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Adam and Adir unpack the strange economics of AI, with OpenAI burning billions, Anthropic claiming explosive growth, and investors still trying to work out where the real profits will come from. They also dig into Temple & Webster’s brutal share price collapse, the limits of its retail model, and why even strong operators can struggle inside a brutally hard business.
00:00 - OpenAI, Anthropic and The AI Money Problem
14:39 - Temple & Webster Gets Whacked
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