How Shiza Shahid and Eric Ryan Transform Business Through Design
"I think breaking precedent and creating change—nothing's more powerful than design, right? It's like a picture is a thousand words. Seeing is believing." - Eric Ryan
Shiza and Eric are both renowned for their precedent-breaking approaches to entrepreneurship. Shiza co-founded the Malala Fund, revolutionizing global education for girls, while Eric reinvented everyday product categories, turning them into billion-dollar brands like Method and Olly.
Both entrepreneurs are driven by a desire to create meaningful impact—Shiza through her social activism and purpose-driven investments, and Eric by bringing joy and innovation to traditionally stagnant markets through design and consumer engagement.
A focus on design is a common thread between them, as both emphasize the importance of aesthetics and functionality in creating impactful products.
Shiza’s company, Our Place, designs kitchenware that is not only multifunctional but also visually appealing, aiming to bring diverse communities together through cooking. Similarly, Eric has built his brands, such as Method and Olly, around the principle that design can transform ordinary products into joyful, engaging experiences for consumers. In both cases, design serves as a tool for fostering connection and innovation, turning mundane items into meaningful, purpose-driven products.
What kind of force of nature are you?
Sunrise, Tide, Rainbow 🌅 🌊 🌈
As I've been talking to thought leaders across industries about precedent, I've realized something: Breaking and setting new precedents happens in one of three categories that we can find in nature ... Sunrises, tides, and rainbows.
🌅 Sunrise: It was inevitable, always going to happen.
🌊 Tide: Something that ebbs and flows, sometimes backwards.
🌈 Rainbow: A surprise left turn that no one saw coming.
As I listen to my recent guests, I see this pattern clearly emerge.
🌊 A Tide flows backwards:
For Shiza, near her hometown in Pakistan, the Taliban set a precedent that girls could not go to school. This set the country and the world back. Shiza helped co-found the Malala Fund, a multi-billion dollar fund, ensuring that all girls have access to 12 years of education globally.
Social Justice: Shiza Shahid on Malala Fund & Our Place
For me, I've always broken precedents because in part I had no choice and in part I didn’t know what the precedents were. They didn’t exist for me, so I was just kind of molding my own path.
She went on to found a for-profit company reimagining cookware, and utilizing design to set new precedents in the kitchen.
🌅 Sunrise is inevitable:
Eric Ryan also has a masterful eye for design and can spot inevitable business trends. With each company he created (Method, Olly, Welly, Cast), he saw the pulse of consumer behavior was shifting, and he jumped in at just the right time, with his innovative, eco-chic soap bottles, gummy vitamins, fun and brave bandages, and empowering jewelry. Eric's says these were all examples of products that were inevitably ready for innovation and if he didn't do it, someone else would have.
Design: Eric Ryan transforming boring products into billion dollar brands
What I'm trying to do is identify a major shift in consumer behavior, and then I'm trying to bring it into that. And that's also where I get really insecure as a founder because when I look at my ideas, they seem so painfully obvious that I always ask the question, why has nobody done this before?
🌈 A surprise left turn:
In future episodes, we will explore the surprise left turn. My guess is, we will find this in Art and Fashion where breaking boundaries is necessary in continuously producing new works. Stay tuned for an upcoming conversation with artist, Trevor Paglen and social slipper founder, Bianca Gates.
