Not One Size Fits All: Creating Eyewear for Overlooked Communities with KayTran

[RETAIL] [EYEWEAR] [DRAGONS DEN]

[#37] In this episode of The Fearless Entrepreneurs Podcast, host Cindy Chang talks with Kathy Tran Riese, founder of KayTran Eyewear—a brand redefining fit and representation for Asian and ethnic facial features in the eyewear space.

Kathy shares how a personal pain point during her MBA turned into a mission-driven business, now featured on CBC’s Dragons’ Den. She opens up about building a brand for overlooked communities, juggling entrepreneurship with motherhood, and overcoming a major health scare that reshaped her perspective.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How KayTran Eyewear is filling a long-ignored gap in the market
• What it really took to land a deal on national TV
• The realities of hiring and scaling with purpose
• Why authenticity and community are Kathy’s greatest business assets

If you care about building a brand that reflects real people and real stories, this one’s for you.

👉 Tune in and get inspired to build boldly and inclusively.

Chapters

• 0:49 Meet Kathy Tran Riese: Founder of KayTran Eyewear
• 1:35 Kathy's Journey: From Side Hustle to Global Brand
• 2:06 Facing Fears: Dragons' Den and Personal Challenges
• 2:26 Balancing Motherhood and Ambition
• 4:28 The Corporate World vs. Entrepreneurship
• 12:11 nvolving Family in the Entrepreneurial Journey
• 18:38 Identifying a Market Gap in Eyewear
• 32:07 Navigating Race and Ethnicity in Branding
• 36:18 Dealing with Social Media Negativity
• 40:01 Dragons' Den Experience and Business Impact
• 44:18 The Impact of Dragons' Den Exposure
• 1:12:45 Rapid Fire Questions and Closing Thoughts