E158 - Adam Schwab, CEO and Co-Founder at Luxury Escapes



Adam Scwhab runs at a million miles an hour - literally, he runs barefoot marathons! The CEO and Co-Founder of Luxury Escapes, Adam Schwab is our guest this week. 



Outside of running one of the country’s most successful, bespoke travel sites, and running really far without shoes, Adam is also a contributing journalist and writer, podcast host, father of two young children, is on the investment committee of Save The Children, and is an angel investor. 



An ex-lawyer, Adam and Luxury Escapes co-founding partner Jeremy Same (an ex-banker), started their first business in 2004 - apartment accommodation for backpackers. Fast forward to 2023, Luxury Escape has 510 staff on its books across Australia, Sri Lanka, India, Brazil, Ukraine, and New Zealand and will turn over close to $1b this year. 



Ian and Adam discuss a heap including:
Taking asymmetric risks 
How COVID affected the business and helped them pivot their product offering 
That every great founder balances incredible self confidence with consistent paranoia 
His podcast From Zero 

And so much more. 



Quickfire Round 

Book: The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon

Podcast: Pivot, What The Flux 

News Source: AFR, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg 

App: BOM 

Tech CEO: Jeff Bezos 

Productivity Tool: WhatsApp 

TV Show/Movie: WeWork, Super Pumped, The Crown - fact based fiction 

Ted Talk Topic: n/a 


Luxury Escapes are always hiring and Adam’s DM’s are open. Hit him up on Twitter. 

E158 - Adam Schwab, CEO and Co-Founder at Luxury Escapes
 
Adam Scwhab runs at a million miles an hour - literally, he runs barefoot marathons! The CEO and Co-Founder of Luxury Escapes, Adam Schwab is our guest this week. 
 
Outside of running one of the country’s most successful, bespoke travel sites, and running really far without shoes, Adam is also a contributing journalist and writer, podcast host, father of two young children, is on the investment committee of Save The Children, and is an angel investor. 
 
An ex-lawyer, Adam and Luxury Escapes co-founding partner Jeremy Same (an ex-banker), started their first business in 2004 - apartment accommodation for backpackers. Fast forward to 2023, Luxury Escape has 510 staff on its books across Australia, Sri Lanka, India, Brazil, Ukraine, and New Zealand and will turn over close to $1b this year. 
 
Ian and Adam discuss a heap including:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Taking asymmetric risks </li>
<li aria-level="1">How COVID affected the business and helped them pivot their product offering </li>
<li aria-level="1">That every great founder balances incredible self confidence with consistent paranoia </li>
<li aria-level="1">His podcast From Zero </li>
</ul>
And so much more. 
 
Quickfire Round 
Book: The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon
Podcast: Pivot, What The Flux 
News Source: AFR, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg 
App: BOM 
Tech CEO: Jeff Bezos 
Productivity Tool: WhatsApp 
TV Show/Movie: WeWork, Super Pumped, The Crown - fact based fiction 
Ted Talk Topic: n/a 
 <a href="https://luxuryescapes.com/au">Luxury Escapes</a> are always hiring and Adam’s DM’s are open. Hit him up on <a href="https://twitter.com/lux_schwab">Twitter</a>.

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The Australian and New Zealand startup ecosystem is burgeoning, exciting and filled with some of the most fascinating minds on the planet, all driven by a passion to make a positive and lasting impact. Open The Pod Bay Doors invites some of the brightest minds in the industry for deep conversations and awe-inspiring insights from their captivating journeys. Lend us your ears to gain some fresh knowledge and broaden your insights. Brought to you weekly by Innovation Bay.

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