Stephanie Leung (@misssteph_eatdrinkplay) has spent more than 25 years quietly building one of Melbourne's most recognisable personal brands. You'll know her from her TV work, her 71K-strong Instagram community at Eat Drink Play, and her hosting at some of the city's biggest launches. But she's also is at PR agency Shy Melbournean Media, a regular host for heritage brands like Hennessy and Cartier, and now a talent manager bringing international actors into the Australian market. Or as she calls herself in this conversation, "a slasher."

In this episode, Ray takes Stephanie back to the beginning. Growing up Chinese-Australian in Doncaster. Being one of only two or three Asian girls in an all-girls Catholic school in Camberwell, sent there by her mum after she started having boyfriends in grade five. Choosing literature and arts when "good Asian kids" were expected to do STEM. Earning her singing lessons by climbing piano grades. And looking around Australian media as a teenager and finding no one who looked like her, until The Hangover came out years later.

Then we get into the work. Her first job in 1997 was a summer vocational role as a sales rep at a commercial lighting company, cold-calling tradies and getting hung up on. She did a year's budget worth of sales in three months, the company put her on a path to full-time and paid for her to finish uni, and she stayed twelve years. She also faxed her own EDMs to clients before the term existed. The lesson she still carries: when someone hangs up on you, you have no idea what just happened to them a minute before. You just keep dialling.

From there we trace the path from lighting, to construction media, to Shy Melbournean Media, to becoming one of the early social media OGs in Melbourne's lifestyle scene almost by accident. We dig into the shift into TV, the difference between being an "influencer" and a creator who runs a real business, and how she decides which heritage brands to take on and which to pass.

We close on what's next: The Hungry Passport, an upcoming travel and food show headed to a major Australian TV channel, where Stephanie is filming alongside celebrity pastry chef Anna Polyviou and co-hosts Irene Jones and Anna Simmons, with a companion podcast called The Open Table.

In this conversation:

• Why "lucky" is the wrong word, and "opportunity meets preparation" is the right one
• What 12 years in B2B lighting sales actually teaches you about building a personal brand
• The reality behind glamorous TV shoots, including a Paris travel shoot that collapsed mid-strike and a Doha layover hours before a major incident
• How to introduce yourself when you genuinely do seven things
• What brands get wrong about partnering with creators, and what creators get wrong about pricing themselves
• Growing up Asian-Australian when there were no Asian faces in local media
• Why hosting a launch is a different muscle from on-camera TV
• The decision to start representing international acting talent in Australia

Follow Stephanie:

• Instagram: @misssteph_eatdrinkplay

Follow Founders and Funders Australia:

• Host: Ray Yee, @rayzworld

In this episode of Founders and Funders, host Ray Yee sits down with Gabriel Bastien-Dietrich, Brand Manager at Nautica Australia. Gabriel shares his journey from the ski slopes north of Montreal to navigating the high-stakes world of international fashion licensing. They dive deep into the mechanics of brand rejuvenation.

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Key Takeaways

• The Licensing Advantage: Discover how licensing (versus distribution) allows the Australian team to design specific silhouettes and sub-brands, like Nautica Competition, specifically for the local market.
• Authenticity Over Aesthetics: Gabriel explains why their most successful campaign was shot authentically on a boat in Sydney Harbour with friends, rather than using "pretty" staged modeling.
• Sustainable Quality: A look at why Nautica Australia prioritizes garment longevity—using 220 GSM Australian cotton—to combat "greenwashing" and ensure clothes last for 15 years.
• Navigating the Retail Crunch: Insights into the shrinking brick-and-mortar landscape and why brands with a "North Star" ethos are the ones that survive economic downturns.

Founder Lessons

• Stay a "Tourist": Gabriel attributes his ability to seize opportunities to a mindset of constant wonder and openness.
• Data-Driven Decisions: Why "Excel is his best friend" and how annual customer surveys provide the subjective feedback necessary to iterate effectively.
• The Originality Mandate: In a small, homogenous market like Australia, being a "copycat" is a fast track to being disposed of by consumers.

Links & Resources

• Nautica Australia: Official Website
• Follow on Instagram: @nauticaaus
• Riverside AI: Our secret weapon for social media clips.
• Industry Reading: Gabriel recommends Inside Retail and Business Insider for staying ahead of market trends.

Host: Ray Yee

Guest: Gabriel Bastien-Dietrich, Brand Manager at Nautica Australia

In this episode of Founders and Funders, we sit down with Connor Luke Van Brown, a designer who transitioned from the high-octane world of professional cycling to the intricate craft of technical fashion. Connor shares the "aha moment" in a team van—watching a Givenchy show just minutes before a race—that led him to trade his bike for a career in design.

We explore his journey through UTS School of Design, the reality of funding a career pivot by selling off his cycling gear, and how he leverages his background in animation and 3D software to create his signature "Resembool" collection.

Named after the hometown in Fullmetal Alchemist, the collection represents a "checkpoint" in his journey. From interning at Song for the Mute to receiving unexpected interest from international buyers in Tokyo and London, Connor discusses what it takes to build a brand in the modern fashion landscape and the meticulous process behind his "beaded pleat" textile manipulations.

• Instagram: @connor.lv.brown
• Latest Collection: "Resembool" (UTS Honors Graduate Collection)

• Professional Background: UCI Continental Team Development
• Industry Experience: Song for the Mute (Sydney)
• Education: