In a time of geopolitical tension, economic transformation and ongoing debate over immigration policy, I’d like to talk about a business world that often goes unseen. It’s one I’ve come to know well over the past decade as I’ve worked with more than 100 immigrant entrepreneurs, many of them of Asian descent and first-generation Canadians.
Quietly but powerfully, these founders are shaping the future of Canadian enterprise, and we can learn much from their wealth-building philosophies.
Their approaches to business, wealth and legacy are often misunderstood—sometimes seen as overly conservative or even opaque. But beneath the surface lies a consistent and compelling philosophy, one grounded in resilience, cross-border fluency and long-term vision.
If family offices in Canada want to understand and serve the rising wave of “new wealth,” this is a community worth paying attention to.
I still recall one of my first client meetings in this space. It was in a modest office tucked behind a strip mall, where a husband and wife ran a thriving logistics business. They had immigrated from China in the early 2000s with little English and less capital, but their phones never stopped ringing. Every conversation was a mix of business, family and community updates.
What struck me wasn’t just their hustle, it was the way they saw business as an extension of life. Their warehouse wasn’t just a supply chain hub; it was a node in a living network of trust, loyalty and survival.
Take the story of Cindy Lee. In the early 1990s, having emigrated from Taiwan, the mother of five noticed the lack of clean, modern supermarkets offering quality Asian ingredients. In 1993, she opened the first T&T Supermarket in Burnaby, B.C., named after her daughters, Tina and Tiffany.
The store’s fresh seafood, wide aisles and in-store bakery quickly won over shoppers. By 2009, T&T had 18 stores and was acquired by Loblaw for $225 million, while retaining its brand and leadership. Cindy’s daughter, Tina Lee, later became CEO and expanded T&T to nearly 40 locations across Canada and the U.S. What began as a mother’s solution to feed her family well became a national success story.
Then there’s Wattpad, co-founded in 2006 by Allen Lau and Ivan Yuen, and founding member Eva Lau. It began as a simple idea: Stories should be read and shared on mobile devices. Inspired by their love of storytelling and tech, they created a space where anyone could publish fiction from their phone.
Wattpad quietly gained traction and became a global storytelling platform with more than 90 million users. In 2021, it was acquired by South Korea’s Naver for more than US$600 million, which is one of Canada’s most successful tech exits.
Eva, a mother of two and a builder herself, once shared a story that has stuck with me: One evening, her daughter asked her a math question. She replied, “Just a sec.” Years later, Eva still remembers that moment, because she never did find out what the question was. That’s the kind of sacrifice and divided attention that many entrepreneurial parents quietly endure.
Qualities of immigrant entrepreneurs
Early in my career I worked at Scotiabank and BMO, and I loved participating and organizing community events. I connected with many inspiring business owners and entrepreneurs, some of them immigrants who still had strong ties to their home countries.
They often came to me with questions about banking, investing and doing business across borders. That’s when I realized how powerful it is to understand the banking system, investment landscape and business cultures across multiple continents. This insight led me to begin offering capital consulting services, helping cross-border family offices and business owners navigate wealth management, international investment and the building of multi-generational legacies.
Here are a few observations I’ve made while working with these clients:
- Global perspective comes naturally: Many immigrant entrepreneurs are global by necessity. They often maintain ties to their home countries and see market gaps that others miss. In Ontario and B.C., more than 40 per cent of entrepreneurs are immigrants. They are 1.5 times more likely to start a business than their Canadian-born counterparts, and 30 per cent of Canada’s exporting small and medium-sized businesses are immigrant-led. I’ve met founders who fly to Shenzhen for parts, send their kids to school in Vancouver and close deals over WeChat in Shanghai—sometimes all in the same week.
- Community is the first customer base: Success often starts close to home with support from friends, family and ethnic networks. These communities provide more than referrals; they form informal capital markets, employee bases and local brand power. One Korean-Canadian founder I worked with told me his first investors were the customers at his church—no pitch deck, just shared beliefs.
- Hands-on hustle and visible leadership: Many immigrant-led businesses are still run by founders who do everything, from negotiating leases to working the front counter. They are not silent partners; they are deeply involved in the day-to-day, driven by a relentless work ethic and a belief in building something lasting. For many, it’s also about maintaining control and making a visible contribution. And yet, the next generation often approaches things differently—more delegated, more digital, more polished. The evolution is fascinating, but it’s rooted in the same values of perseverance and purpose.
As Canada continues to redefine its economy and global role, many immigrant entrepreneurs are emerging as the next Cindy Lee, or the next Allen and Eva Lau—visionaries quietly shaping the next wave of Canadian business leadership.
Culturally fluent advisors and supportive wealth management firms can play a crucial role. With the right support, these business owners become catalysts, driving growth, inclusion and wealth that benefits not just their communities but Canada as a whole.
Jessie Huang, founder and Managing Director at Toronto-based AccuGrowth Investment, is a passionate cross-border wealth strategist specializing in wealth management consulting and legacy building. She is also a professor at Seneca College. You can reach her at jessie.huang@accugrowthinvestments.ca.
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