Alyce Tran has the magic touch. The Sydney-based entrepreneur and former corporate lawyer has co-founded not one, but two cult brands — The Daily Edited, a personalised accessories brand known for their chic, but affordable phone cases, wallets and bags, and In The Roundhouse, a homewares brand, which you’ve no doubt seen all over Instagram. Those fun plates with adorable seafood and Italian words like ‘Mangiamo’ and ‘Grazie Mille’ on them? That’s it.
Anyway, the point is: Tran knows a thing or two about starting a successful brand. And so, who better than her to have as the host of POPSUGAR Australia’s first-ever podcast, Dinner For Two, which picks the brains of those behind some of the country’s biggest brands? (No one else, that’s who).
And for Tran, hosting the podcast was also a no-brainer. “After exiting The Daily Edited [she sold her stake in the business in 2021], I reflected on my learnings, different aspects of the business and I wanted to jot it down,” Tran says. “A few people had approached me about a book, but I felt that I would take a while to get out there and potentially be a bit one-dimensional.”
“However, with Dinner For Two, I’ve been able to talk with others I admire and who are experts in the field about a variety of different aspects of business that I hope listeners will be able to learn something and get a takeaway from.”
Tran says she was deliberate in keeping each podcast episode short and sweet, so that she was creating an audio product that allows for constant learning and absorbing of information — without any of the fluff.
As for her favourite episode to record so far, Tran says it’s hard to choose, but that two in particular were highlights.
“For Adrian Norris [CEO and co-founder of Aje] and Ana Piteira [founder and creative director of Reliquia Collective], these were their first-ever podcasts, so that was so fun to get them into it,” she says.
The season promises practical advice for not just those looking to start their own businesses, but also for those simply looking to get ahead. Tapping into her own experience of starting The Daily Edited and then having to start all over again with In The Roundhouse, Tran asks her guests hard-hitting questions that really get to the bottom of it what it’s actually like to start a brand.
“If you’re curious about business and [the story behind] some Australian brands you love, then this could be for you,” she promises.
