619: Airline Charged Me $65 - So I built a $250M Competitor | Adam Ewart

The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan

Nathan Chan

Entrepreneurship, Business, Marketing

4.9 • 664 Ratings

🗓️ 1 January 2026

⏱️ 47 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Adam Ewart turned a £50 excess baggage fee into a global bootstrapped logistics company operating in 145 countries and staying profitable for 15 straight years. In this interview, Adam breaks down how he built Send My Bag, the international luggage shipping service moving more than 250,000 bags annually with only 32 staff, all through ruthless automation, scrappy PR, and a customer-first obsession that outperformed airlines and traditional freight companies. What you’ll learn in this interview: • How a £50 baggage fee inspired a $250M global logistics company • The exact PR strategy that landed national TV coverage for free • How Send My Bag scaled to 145 countries without VC funding • Adam’s automation systems that enabled 250,000 shipments with 32 staff • How he navigated Brexit, Covid, surcharges, and international disruptions • Why customer referrals became their biggest growth engine • How he negotiated airport media, TV placements, and global partnerships • The economics behind luggage shipping and global freight networks • How to survive catastrophic industry shifts without layoffs • The mindset, execution, and resilience behind 15 years of profitable growth By the end of this episode, you’ll understand how to build a lean, global service business, protect margins, automate at scale, and turn painful customer frustrations into a nine-figure opportunity. SAVE 50% ON OMNISEND FOR 3 MONTHS Get 50% off your first 3 months of email and SMS marketing with Omnisend with the code FOUNDR50. Just head to ⁠⁠⁠https://your.omnisend.com/foundr⁠⁠⁠ to get started. HOW WE CAN HELP YOU SCALE YOUR BUSINESS FASTER Learn directly from 7, 8 & 9-figure founders inside Foundr+ Start your $1 trial → ⁠⁠⁠https://www.foundr.com/startdollartrial⁠⁠⁠ PREFER A CUSTOM ROADMAP AND 1-ON-1 COACHING? → Starting from scratch? Apply here → ⁠⁠⁠https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-start-application⁠⁠⁠ → Already have a store? Apply here → ⁠⁠⁠https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-growth-application⁠⁠⁠ CONNECT WITH NATHAN CHAN Instagram → ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/nathanchan⁠⁠⁠ LinkedIn → ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanhchan/⁠⁠⁠ CONNECT WITH ADAM EWART Website → https://www.sendmybag.com FOLLOW FOUNDR FOR MORE BUSINESS GROWTH STRATEGIES YouTube → ⁠⁠⁠https://bit.ly/2uyvzdt⁠⁠⁠ Website → ⁠⁠⁠https://www.foundr.com⁠⁠⁠ Instagram → ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/foundr/⁠⁠⁠ Facebook → ⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/foundr⁠⁠⁠ Twitter → ⁠⁠⁠https://www.twitter.com/foundr⁠⁠⁠ LinkedIn → ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/foundr/⁠⁠⁠ Podcast → ⁠⁠⁠https://www.foundr.com/podcast

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey Founder Fam, I want to talk to you about something super exciting. We're officially partnered with Omniscend, the email marketing and SMS platform built specifically for e-commerce founders. We've been recommending OmnisCent to Founder students for a while now because it just works. Whether you're launching your first store or you're scaling the seven figures, it really helps you automate your marketing and get real results.
0:24.0	Did you know on average, Omnysend customers make $68 for every $1 they spend, which is an insanely good return on investment.
0:32.6	And because you're part of the founder community, you get 50% off your first three months with the code Founder 50.
0:39.3	Just head to Omnisend.com forward slash founder without the E to get started.
0:45.0	All right, now let's jump back into the show.
0:48.9	What if getting charged 50 pound for excess baggage on a short flight became the spark
0:53.8	for building a $250 million company
0:56.2	that now operates in 145 countries, all while staying bootstrapped and profitable every single
1:01.5	year for 15 years. Well, today's guest is Adam Ewart, founder of Send My Bag, the International
1:06.9	Luggage Shipping Service that's moved over 250,000 bags annually with just 32 staff
1:12.6	by ruthlessly automating everything. After watching frustrated travelers get gouged by airlines,
1:18.1	Adam tackled this problem head on with just 100 pounds to build a basic website and zero
1:22.6	coding skills. He launched by cold calling local journalists about his young entrepreneur story, landed on TV and got his first customers without spending a penny on ads.
1:31.8	Then came the real test, Brexit, COVID, Trump visa bans and freight cost surcharges that added $180 to every shipment, all while never laying off a single employee.
1:42.7	This is a masterclass and building global logistics
1:45.1	businesses through scrappy PR, systematic automation, and turning the travel industry pain points
1:51.1	into a nine-figure opportunity.
1:56.1	Hear the stories. Learn the proven methods and accelerate your growth and future through entrepreneurship.
2:03.9	Welcome to the founder podcast with Nathan Chan.
2:10.1	All right, Adam, welcome to the show. The first question I wanted to ask you is, can you take us back to the pivotal moment in 2010 where you were
2:20.4	charged 50 euro for excess baggage on a short trip to London Gatwick? Yeah absolutely. So my girlfriend at
2:32.6	the time, now she's my wife, I used to travel to England from Northern Ireland to help her bring stuff home at the end of the university terms.
	...

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