Our Place is a Los Angeles-based direct-to-consumer kitchenware brand founded in 2019 by Shiza Shahid, Amir Tehrani and Zach Rosner. It is best known for the Always Pan - a ceramic, PFAS-free multifunctional pan that replaces eight to ten pieces of traditional cookware and became one of the internet's first viral pieces of cookware. The company designs multifunctional, non-toxic, and design-forward cookware, bakeware, dinnerware and small appliances, and pairs its products with a mission of celebrating home cooking, cultural connection and social impact.
Eunice Byun is the co-founder and CEO of Material, the New York-based direct-to-consumer kitchenware brand she launched in 2018 with Dave Nguyen. A Goldman Sachs alum who spent a decade in finance and beauty before leaving a VP role at Revlon, she grew up in her family's Korean restaurant in San Diego and built Material around the belief that the everyday kitchen deserves fewer, better, more beautiful tools. Under her leadership Material has grown through word-of-mouth loyalty, landed in Nordstrom nationwide, and donated nearly $200,000 to community food causes through its Kinder Kitchens campaign.
Shiza Shahid is a Pakistani-American entrepreneur, investor, and activist. She co-founded the Malala Fund with Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai and served as its founding CEO, then went on to co-found and co-lead Our Place, the cookware brand behind the viral Always Pan. She also founded NOW Ventures, an early-stage fund backing mission-driven founders. Her work braids together social impact, immigrant identity, and the everyday ritual of cooking.
Material is a New York-based direct-to-consumer kitchenware company building beautifully designed, non-toxic, and sustainably made cooking essentials that are meant to last a lifetime. Founded in 2017 by Eunice Byun and Dave Nguyen, the brand pairs minimalist design with thoughtful materials - Japanese steel knives, copper-core pans, and the reBoard cutting board made from recycled plastic scraps and sugarcane - to make everyday cooking simpler and more pleasurable.
Williams-Sonoma, Inc. is a San Francisco-based, vertically integrated specialty retailer of premium home furnishings and cookware. From a single 1956 cookware shop in Sonoma, California, it grew into a portfolio of in-house-designed brands - Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, Pottery Barn Teen, West Elm, Williams Sonoma Home, Rejuvenation, Mark and Graham, and GreenRow - sold through e-commerce, catalogs, retail stores, and a growing B2B business. It is one of the largest digital-first home retailers in the United States, with roughly $7.7-7.9 billion in annual revenue.