The Unglamorous Side of Running a Furniture Business, Mastering Introverted Leadership & Building an Award-Winning Brand ft. Amanda & Ken of EVA | Ep. 54

In this episode of the Level Asian podcast, we’re joined by Amanda and Ken, the founders of EVA, Australia's award-winning, certified B Corp furniture brand. 

Amanda and Ken share their journey from how they founded EVA, the evolution of the brand, and highlight company milestones and successes, along with the challenges they’ve faced during their journey. 

We also talk to Amanda and Ken about introverted leadership in business, their advice for those wanting to enter the e-commerce space and EVA’s plans for the future.

Enjoy the episode! 

Show Notes Links:

EVA 

https://eva.com.au/ 

https://www.facebook.com/evahomeofficial/ 

https://instagram.com/eva.home 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCESSp-9_XRezy-EJbjWZf0Q 

AMANDA

https://www.instagram.com/amndagram/ 

https://www.tiktok.com/@amanda.niu 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/niuamanda/ 

KEN 

https://www.instagram.com/kenlauuu/ 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ken-lau-jx/ 

Chapters

• 0:00 Intro
• 1:57 The EVA Production Process
• 5:34 Ken’s Childhood Experiences, Moving to Australia at 15 Years Old, Starting an eBay Business, Racism Experiences
• 14:00 Amanda’s Experience Growing Up in New Zealand, Not Doing Homework until Year 6, and Studying Psyc
• 14:54 How Ken & Amanda Met
• 16:34 Winding Up Ken’s eBay Businesses
• 17:39 Ken & His Dad’s Trip to China + Manufacturing Game Plan
• 21:59 Building the EVA Brand + the Company’s Milestones
• 26:44 The EVA Customer Experience, Being Thoughtful as a Brand
• 32:20 The Influence of Amanda & Ken’s Uni Degrees on the EVA Brand, EVA’s Business Growth Stats
• 35:21 Furniture Businesses: Building to Sell Vs. Legacy & Long-Term Play
• 39:48 EVA Sales & Marketing, EVA’s Wins & Losses
• 42:43 The Story Behind EVA’s Everyday Sofa & Its Launch
• 52:07 Introverted Leadership & Navigating That in Business
• 58:52 Amanda & Ken’s Advice for Those Wanting to Go into the eCommerce Space
• 1:01:41 EVA’s Plans for the Future
• 1:02:55 Outro