Welcome to Edition #77 of Did You Know? (DYK), the weekly newsletter by Gorick Ng, Harvard career adviser and Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author of The Unspoken Rules, where we deconstruct the untold story of how someone (or something) became successful—and what you can do to follow in their footsteps.
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Did You Know? It starts with looking inward!
→ Read time: 4 min
Your success story this week
Did you know? A soon-to-be dad’s mission to connect with his immigrant parents led to a cooking channel with millions of subscribers and two James Beard Awards.
It’s 2020—and Randy Lau, a startup founder in the San Francisco Bay Area, had a realization as he and his then-six-month-pregnant wife were preparing for the birth of their first child: Lau never knew his grandparents—and didn’t want the same for his kids.
Then, realizing that many of his favorite memories growing up revolved around his dad’s delicious cooking, Lau had an idea:
What if we started a YouTube cooking channel?
The star of the show? Lau’s dad—who had opened his own Chinese restaurant after immigrating to New York City from Guangzhou, China in 1981.
At first, his dad, Chung Sun Lau, was quiet.
Then, two days later, Lau’s dad called. “I need to process some pork,” he told his son. “Why don’t you come over and film?”
Shy about his own broken Cantonese that prevented him from communicating with his own dad growing up, Lau swallowed his pride, turned on the camera, and started filming.
Then, after spending hundreds of hours over six months producing five weeks’ worth of videos, Lau pressed “Publish” on their first YouTube video: “Dad's EASY Mapo Tofu Recipe, Cantonese style (麻婆豆腐鸡)!”
Fast forward and, by the end of December 2021, roughly a year after publishing his first video, “Made With Lau” attracted over 500,000 subscribers.
Fast forward three more years to 2024, and “Made with Lau,” after posting roughly one new video per week, now boasts over 1,600,000 subscribers on YouTube—as well as two James Beard Awards for “Instructional Visual Media” and “Emerging Voice in Broadcast.”
Followers and awards aside, Lau is most proud of one thing: the opportunity “to have conversations with my parents that I otherwise wouldn't have had.”
What does this mean for you? The next time you find yourself looking for purpose in your career, remember Randy and Chung Sun Lau, who found purpose in passing wisdom on to the next generation.
Your career strategy this week
Did you know? The next generation is waiting!
Have you ever felt lost and directionless in your career?
If so, the origins of “Made with Lau” offer a useful way to find your purpose: Ask yourself, “What do I want to leave behind for the next generation?”
The next generation could be your kids (in the case of Lau) or really anyone coming after you at work, in school, or in life.
Are you in school? If so, try filling in these blanks:
- “I want to leave behind a school/world that’s _______ because I _______, so I will find purpose in _______.” (And let your answer inform what you study, what extracurriculars you pursue, and which internships you consider.)
- E.g., “I want to leave behind a world where children from mixed race households feel like they belong because this was my experience growing up, so I will find purpose in pursuing a literature degree and writing short stories for kids on the mixed race experience.”
Are you in the workforce? If so, try filling in these blanks:
- “I want to leave behind a workplace/world where _______ because I _______, so I will find purpose in _______.” (And let your answer inform the volunteer efforts you choose and the decisions you make every day in your career.)
- E.g., “I want to leave behind a world where immigrant entrepreneurs can get the funding they need to build, grow, and scale their businesses because I saw what my parents had to go through growing up, so I will find purpose in making funding available to small business owners who are newcomers to this country.”
I know it because I’ve experienced it: When I felt lost and directionless in my career, I looked to my own experience as a first-generation college grad and professional. That’s when I realized that I wanted to pave a smoother path for those coming after me. Without this introspection, I would have never written The Unspoken Rules!
Pass it on!
Gorick
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Sources:
- Randy Lau, a startup founder in the San Francisco Bay Area
- Lau never knew his grandparents—and didn’t want the same for his kids
- many of his favorite memories
- The star of the show
- At first, his dad, Chung Sun Lau, was quiet
- “I need to process some pork”
- Shy about his own broken Cantonese
- spending hundreds of hours
- 500,000 subscribers
- 1,600,000 subscribers on YouTube
- James Beard Awards
- “to have conversations with my parents that I otherwise wouldn't have had.”
