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

Jan 1, 2026

Adam Ewart, founder of Send My Bag, shares how a £50 excess baggage fee led him to create a global logistics powerhouse generating over $250 million annually. He dives into his guerrilla PR tactics that landed TV coverage for free and how a lean team of 32 manages 250,000 shipments worldwide. Adam discusses scaling operations without VC funding, navigating crises like Brexit and COVID, and emphasizes the importance of customer referrals in driving growth. His insights offer a roadmap for building a successful, automated service business.

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ANECDOTE

Hunch Turned Into A £100 Launch

Adam Ewart started Send My Bag after being charged £50 for a couple kilos overweight on a flight and wrote down sendmybag.com on the plane.
He built a basic website for about £100 and got initial customers from local TV coverage after cold-calling a journalist.

ADVICE

Use Scrappy PR To Kickstart Growth

Do use scrappy PR to get attention when you have no budget; tailor stories to what news outlets want.
Put yourself out there on TV and pitch creative angles repeatedly to create initial traction and referrals.

ADVICE

Negotiate Media And Complement PR With Ads

Do supplement PR with paid marketing as you can afford it and always negotiate media prices down.
Meet media sellers in person and show you're a serious buyer to unlock unexpectedly good deals.

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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.