episode 028: Pearl Lam

Pearl Lam has an enviable depth of smarts about the world around her. The entrepreneur & creative is co-founder of a number of businesses and projects, from popular food brand Dicky’s Dumps to Vancouver guide District Local to community event series Sanbo Worldwide. She was born in Hong Kong, the youngest of two daughters. Her family immigrated to Canada when she was three and was encouraged by her parents to quickly assimilate into North American culture. A shy child, she spent much of her time alone and creating, whether it was drawing, making art, or spending hours at the library reading solo. Despite her natural introvertedness, her love of writing, production, curiosity, and having fun eventually overrode this, and Pearl found herself working as a publicist, marketer in various industries, and also living in New York for a time. In this conversation, we examine her childhood and the push & pull of straddling two cultures, her desire to reconnect with her roots in her adult years, what her chapter in New York brought to her life, the genesis story of Dicky’s Dumps and what it’s like working with your life partner, a traumatic accident that changed her world, and more.