Entrepreneurs are ordinarily intrinsically motivated. They are usually not concerned with what others may think when starting their own business. They aim to become their own boss to achieve financial freedom, satisfaction, and flexibility. Chinese-Canadian entrepreneur Jason Kwan solidifies this statement as he continues his entrepreneurial journey. The new Chairman and President of Pearl West Group detail how he transitioned from the owner of a Digital Ad Agency to President of an Amazon Mergers and Acquisition Company.
Starting Adviant Media
Like many entrepreneurs, Kwan is self-made and, apart from his uncle, who owned a Chinese restaurant, had no other entrepreneurial influences around him. “My family isn’t very entrepreneurial. There weren’t any mentors that encouraged me to go down the business route. My entry into entrepreneurship was very 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.”
Kwan started his first company at 17 years old. It was a digital ad agency called Adviant that he saw as an opportunity after researching the topic and completing online courses. Though this niche existed, it took some time for business owners to gravitate to the concept, and so he had to make an effort to convince them. “The local businesses were skeptical. It was challenging to convince them of the benefits of online advertising, so eventually, I found an online insurance company that paid 20 dollars for every qualified lead that I got for them.”
Kwan took advantage of the novelty of online advertising and the low costs associated with it. “Online advertising costs were meager compared to traditional marketing channels. Eventually, I started generating leads and sales for other industries like dating, health, and beauty space that had a wider audience reach.” His hard work and perseverance paid off, and he was able to grow the advertising company at a 160% compounded annual growth rate for eight years.
The Start of Pearl West Group
Once Kwan developed the skills he needed to branch out, he decided to take on new ventures. “I wanted to build something that can scale quickly. We had accumulated a lot of capital in our business that we wanted to use to take advantage of our expertise and experience.”
Following this need for scalability and fast growth, the Pearl West Group was formed. The company was structured as a strategic acquirer of brands that are selling on Amazon. “We chose Amazon businesses because Amazon’s marketplace is increasing organically every year, with more and more adoption of eCommerce and Amazon as the leading e-commerce platform. We also felt these types of businesses align with our previous experience and expertise.”
After having his hand in the digital marketing waters for so many years, Kwan knew that he and his team had the capabilities to develop this type of company. “We began as operators of these businesses, starting several brands from scratch, so we understand deeply about an Amazon business’s intricacies from A-Z. However, we also use the role of M&A to grow quicker.”
While he admits that the return on capital is a lot higher if the company started its own brands, he suggests that the process is slower and did not wish to be limited to organic growth. This model has allowed the company to acquire more brands and share resources and tools across each brand.
Entrepreneurs like Jason Kwan help encourage those who may have similar backgrounds that it is important to take the leap of faith despite their background and experience.
