Episode 118: Employment Hero v Seek Cage Fight, Atlassian Burn Book, Southwest, Reg Grundy's Legacy, Why Free Samples are a Genius Move and How are Coin Laundries Still a Thing?
The guys discuss the fight between Employment Hero and Seek, Atlassian co-founders go to war, Adir's Reg Grundy book review, Adam's advice to businesses, and the supposed death of coin laundries.
The Contrarians catchup
Adir talked about Skip, an “all-in-one ordering platform” that allows customers to skip the queue. Adir says “this is the archetypal example of what you should avoid in business, because either you have a very high average order value, and then it doesn't matter if people buy it very frequently, or you take a tiny amount of money per order, but there needs to be like a gazillion orders.”
Adir: “One of the things I hate about life is that you can be wrong and rich, and right and poor.”
Adam shares his favourite marketing strategy for small retail businesses: free samples. “It's the old sales strategy of giving someone something and they owe you something so they buy.”
Adir agrees: “I do like this idea where you say ‘I'm just going to do something that makes the customer feel special’. Like, that is the essence of business and hospitality. If you make the customer feel special, that will help you build your brand.”
Adir read ‘Reg Grundy’ by Reg Grundy about his 30 years in Australian television. “If you push your way through the cringe, the self-aggrandisement, the attacks on other people, what you find is that he did some very amazing things.”
Adam talks about an article in The Wall Street Journal, ‘You’re Cordially Invited to Our Dry Wedding. Hope You Have Fun?’
Southwest Airlines has baggage
Southwest Airlines posted a 42% drop in Q2 profit, citing weak domestic travel demand and economic uncertainty (especially around tariffs) not its policy changes. Revenue missed expectations at $7.2B. While fare cuts and premium upgrades are underway, core budget travellers remain cautious. Its scrapped “two bags fly free” policy has been profitable but harder to travel with large shampoos.
Adir: “They stripped everything back and have a complete user-pays model. And so if Mike took a bag and I didn't take a bag and it was all free, then I would be paying for Mike's bag. I think this was completely logical. Of course people are gonna complain at the time because human beings are programmed to complain about change. Even good change they complain about.”
Employment Hero v Seek
Employment Hero has won an interim court order forcing Seek to maintain its API access, allowing the $2B HR startup to keep posting jobs and automating recruitment via Seek’s platform. Despite owning a stake in Employment Hero, Seek had blocked access, sparking a legal battle over competition and platform control.
Adir: “Providing free job listings is a direct competitor to Seek’s business model. I don't think a commercial entity should be compelled to provide its API in order to bring about the downfall of its own business model.”
Adam: “Why can't Seek just charge a lot of money for it? Let the market decide, if this is really valuable to you, we're gonna charge for this valuable service.”
Atlassian burn book
Atlassian’s major Trello update has sparked backlash from users, who say the new interface is clunky and slows productivity. Critics called it a “disaster,” with some threatening to leave the platform. Atlassian defended the changes as part of a shift toward personal productivity, but frustration is mounting amid broader growth concerns.
The Australian also dove into “the irreparable personal and professional falling out” between Atlassian co-founders Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar.
Adir: “I mostly find this story very sad. You started a business and the reality exceeds your hopes and dreams by infinity probably. And where you end up is not living happily ever after despite having made $25B and having a beautiful sell-down structure where you keep taking cash off the table.”
Adam: “What we have is a company that's incredibly highly valued. So we think it's about a $10B business, or maybe a little bit more, valued at $85B that doesn't make money, growing at low 20%, and has a real issue with product.”
The ASX’s number one rocket
Pro Medicus surged to a $30B valuation after signing $190M in contracts, with its Visage 7 imaging platform leading a shift to cloud-based healthcare software. Despite its steep valuation, trading at 120x revenue, investors remain bullish. Its growth, high margins, and U.S. focus make it a standout, albeit controversial, ASX performer.
Adir: “They've got a piece of software that is used by radiology in hospitals and the software seems to be significantly better than competitor software. And what people are excited about with this business is their revenue growth rate and the net profit margins that they're able to retain.”
Adam: “I love this business. It's got switching costs, it's got brand, it's got scale. But this is why I hate bubbles and why Scott Galloway says “bubbles are the worst thing for young people” because you can't get into these great businesses at a reasonable price.”
Five other stories worth following:
Following the Coldplay kiss-cam scandal that led to two exec resignations, Astronomer hired Gwyneth Paltrow, Chris Martin’s ex, for a parody video promoting its upcoming conference. The viral moment boosted visibility for both the company and Coldplay, whose streams jumped 25% last Thursday amid renewed public interest.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman reminded users that ChatGPT conversations aren't confidential. Unlike doctors or lawyers, OpenAI isn’t bound by legal privilege and would be required to disclose chats if subpoenaed. The warning underscores the risks of discussing sensitive legal or medical issues with the chatbot.
Citigroup launched the Strata Elite credit card, aiming to rival premium cards like AmEx Platinum. Despite its $595 annual fee, Citigroup claims users can get $1,500 in value through peak-time travel and dining rewards, lounge access, and American Airlines perks. The rewards market topped $1.2T last year.
EU President Ursula von der Leyen and Donald Trump struck a new trade deal, setting a 15% baseline tariff on most EU exports. Europe avoided harsher rates but made major energy and defence purchase commitments. The agreement lacks documentation but impacts key sectors like autos, steel, and aircraft parts.
Roblox has become an $80B company with 30m concurrent users, despite never turning a profit. Originally meant as a 3D reality simulator, its child-focused gaming platform has exploded in popularity. Shares are up 200% in a year, though safety concerns and ongoing losses remain key challenges.