One of my favorite parts of The MarketHer—in addition to trying to help women find meaningful roles in the marketing world—is figuring out ways to highlight badass, talented, inspiring women in several ways: those who are looking for their next professional opportunity, those who’ve founded their own companies and/or started interesting side-hustles, and those who are pursuing creative work we’re moved by.
Next up, I’m excited to introduce Lucy Gao, a talented marketing and communications professional whom I had the pleasure of working with at WeWork. Lucy recently created and launched a brilliant new podcast called Growing Up Immigrant, and was kind enough to give us all the details. Read on, and don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Apple or Spotify.
Lucy Gao, Creator & Host of Growing Up Immigrant
Name: Lucy Gao
Hometown: Born in Beijing and grew up in Toronto
Currently based in: Toronto
Describe yourself in three words: Creative, ambitious, and resourceful.
I feel inspired when: I’m being creative, learning, and trying new things, usually outside my comfort zone.
Outside of work you’ll find me: Making excessive amounts of lists, playing with my cat, taking French classes, doing improv, and spending time with family and friends.
Your new podcast, Growing Up Immigrant, is fantastic. Can you tell us a bit about the origin story and how the podcast came about?
Growing up in Toronto, where almost half the population is foreign born, many of my friends have different cultural backgrounds. Sometimes we would talk about certain topics through the lens of our respective cultures, and it was fascinating hearing about the differences, but more so the similarities. I wanted to bring these stories to a larger audience, especially since they’re so relatable—like how long it takes to say goodbye to guests, or our moms passive-aggressively comparing us to anyone and everyone, to more serious topics like a lack of understanding in many immigrant families about mental health.
I’m also really proud to feature diverse voices and highlight the immigrant experience, which is not always represented in mainstream media. If we can start to discover how similar we are with people who are different from us, perhaps this can help create more empathy, respect, and ultimately more understanding between people of all backgrounds.
What’s one of the biggest things that has surprised you about launching a podcast? Has the creative process been what you’d expected thus far? What are some of the roadblocks you’ve faced in its development?
There was a lot of positive feedback when I launched it, which was really moving. Messages from friends and friends of friends saying, “Oh my God, I relate so much to that,” or, “I was laughing so hard when you guys started talking about the Royal Danish cookie tins.”
The creative process is also incredibly fulfilling. Putting the outlines together, designing the cover art, recording the episodes, and even the editing process. I’ll be editing for hours and I’ll look at the time and be like, Oh wow, it’s 2 a.m. I’m in a deep state of flow, which I love.
Any tips for other first-time podcast producers?
Sound quality is everything—definitely make sure everyone has good mics! I record in my closet because it has the best acoustics. Also, I’ve found the best way to learn is to do everything myself, from picking the music to fixing plosive sounds, and everything in between. Although it’s time consuming, it’s super rewarding to have a finished product at the end of it.
Tools I use: Blue Yeti mic, Zencastr for group recording, Anchor for distribution, and Canva for marketing materials.
What’s one super memorable piece of advice you got when starting/launching Growing Up Immigrant?
Before we recorded the first episode, my friend Arianne, who’s on the podcast, told me that I should be prepared for the episode to turn out differently from what I planned— to just go with the flow. And that’s exactly what happened. My friends took my questions and prompts and brought the discussion to a whole new level. Preparation is, of course, still very necessary, but it’s also important to let the conversation take on a life of its own and see where it leads you.
You have an awesome background in communications. How does the Growing Up Immigrant podcast tie into your professional experience? How did your prior work inform this project?
Working in communications, there’s a lot of writing, editing, researching, creating campaign plans and editorial calendars, etc. I’ve definitely applied that structure and diligence to the podcast.
What sorts of professional opportunities are you looking to tackle next? Are you looking to go in-house somewhere? Freelance? Continue working on the podcast as you take on a new role?
I would love to combine my marketing and communications experience with my producing capabilities to tell compelling stories and create meaningful moments. I am looking for new professional opportunities while also continuing to learn and seeing where my projects take me. I definitely want to keep Growing Up Immigrant going regardless of what I do next!
Anything else we should know?
Putting myself out there and working on these creative projects is quite a new experience for me. I’ve had a corporate job since I graduated from university, so diverging from that path and not working full-time feels quite scary (and is, ironically, very un-immigrant of me). But I’m sticking with it—for now at least… until my parents start asking me about it. 🙃
Connect with Lucy and the Growing Up Immigrant podcast here: LinkedIn | Instagram