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The journey to entrepreneurship differs for individual to individual. Some entrepreneurs are taught, others have a natural knack for it, while it is necessary for some. For Chairman and President of the Pearl West Group, Jason Kwan, it may be hard to believe that entrepreneurship would seem like something he stumbled into. Jason, who grew up in a traditional Chinese family, reminisces on his upbringing and how he started. 

Limited Exposure to Entrepreneurship 

“My exposure to entrepreneurship was very limited growing up. My uncle owned a Chinese restaurant, but other than that, my family isn’t very entrepreneurial. There weren’t any mentors that encouraged me to go down the business route.”

Like most Asian households, there was a great emphasis on becoming successful through traditional jobs such as a medical doctor or an engineer. “My mom believed in the traditional way of success: getting good grades and becoming an engineer or doctor. That’s the dream of every Asian parent for their kids.”

Despite this, Kwan, a smart child growing up, describes his entry into entrepreneurship as fortunate. “I started reading books about financial freedom, and then it slowly led to books about starting a business. I decided to skip university to pursue this route.” Anyone familiar with the values of an Asian household knows very well that this decision would not be easily accepted. However, for Jason, though his mother was upset at first, she eventually came around because she had faith in him.  

Starting His First Business

Jason eventually went on to start his first business, fittingly in the field of technology. “I started my first business at 17 years old. I was devouring a ton of courses on online marketing and how to use Google AdWords. I formed a digital advertising agency. At the time, online advertising platforms were neglected by many big corporations, and there weren’t many agencies that specialized in online channels.”

The online marketing agency was a good fit and brought in steady income for Jason. “I remember going to London for my cousin’s wedding, and the AdWords campaign was running in the background while I was there, making a good steady income for me. I told my uncle, and he didn’t believe it. He didn’t think that you can make money without physical labor. As I said, we came from a very traditional, old fashion family.”

Successful Despite the Odds

While his family may not have always seen his dream, Jason stuck with it and grew his ad agency to a successful company. “Eventually, I started generating leads and sales for other industries like dating, health, and beauty space that had a wider audience reach. I grew our advertising company at a 160% compounded annual growth rate for eight years. I was very good at understanding data, and digital marketing is more data-driven than most traditional marketing.”

Once he found his way, Jason and the team went on to start a new venture. The Pearl West Group, which he now owns and operates. This Amazon Mergers and Acquisitions company is responsible for acquiring and building Amazon brands. He aims to make this company a successful digitally native group.

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