Welcome toSecond Life, a podcast spotlighting successful women who’ve made major career changes—and fearlessly mastered the pivot. Hosted by Hillary Kerr, co-founder and chief content officer at Who What Wear, each episode gives you a direct line to women who are game changers in their fields. Subscribe to Second Life on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere you get your podcasts to stay tuned.
Modern kitchenware brand Material was created with a simple mission: to deliver kitchen products that not only make consumers proud to own them but also are an absolute pleasure to use. With her long-time friend Dave Nguyen, Eunice Byun embarked on a journey to completely reimagine what consumers actually need in the kitchen. As the co-founder and CEO of Material, Byun is modernizing the cooking experience with high-quality, thoughtfully designed tools for the kitchen, bringing inspiration to the home cook and joy to the everyday. Since its launch in 2018, Material has garnered a community that shares the same passion for intentional products with over 50,000 followers on Instagram and features in esteemed publications such as NYT Cooking, Forbes, and more.
Honoring tradition stands at the forefront of Material, as Nguyen’s and Byun’s fondest memories are coming together with their families to prepare and enjoy meals that reflect their Vietnamese and Korean cultures. Behind the scenes, Byun actively uses Material’s growing platform to amplify AAPI voices. An all-female AAPI creative team created the brand’s most recent launch, and 50% of profits during the first week of the launch were donated to #hateisavirus. Byun has undoubtedly created a purposeful brand from the inside out.
Yet, before she began envisioning a new way to cook at home, she actually began her career in corporate America at Goldman Sachs as a financial analyst. She then went on to help launch and advise several startups in the consumer space before landing as the VP of global marketing at Revlon. There, she was responsible for setting the digital strategy for the massive enterprise and elevating digital marketing, social media, and digital innovation across the organization. Listen to the latest episode of Second Life to hear how Byun decided to make the pivot—and take a big leap of faith—to start her own company.
And keep scrolling to shop some of Material’s best sellers.
