How the Father-Daughter Duo Behind a Booming Bubble Tea Brand Works Together in Harmony

It’s not always easy to do business with family, but the father-daughter duo behind the Gong Cha franchise in America has found a way to make it work–to great success.

At the heart of the popular Taiwanese bubble tea brand’s U.S. expansion is Gong Cha USA CEO Sam Lamba, 65, and his daughter Anchal, 34, who is also the company’s president. Since the company came to the U.S. in 2014, it’s launched more than 150 locations stateside.

For the more than 32 million family businesses across America, work is family. That’s how Sam viewed entrepreneurship growing up in India, where business was often a family affair that was passed along to the next generation. This was why he sent all three of his children to Taiwan to learn more about the bubble tea business. 

“I would like one of my children to basically run it, or [if] all three could run it,” Sam says, noting his initial thought process when he started the franchise in 2014. 

There are advantages and disadvantages when you work with family in business, Sam says. For example, the blurry line between a personal and professional relationship can be confusing, and that can lead to conflict. But at least in the case of Sam and Anchal, the line does not always exist–and that’s okay, they say.

Although they try not to talk shop when other family members are around, the business still finds its way into the conversation. “[The business] discussion might come up, and family might stop us because it’s dinner time,” says Sam. “Sometimes I play with my grandchildren and then discuss business too.” As Anchal sees it, that’s no different from how other business owners operate too, since they think about the business “not just Monday through Friday and 9 to 5.”

So, how do they navigate their work relationship? It’s all about open communication and mutual trust in what they both have to offer, despite their generational gap. “We know how to speak to each other if there is something we’re disagreeing about,” says Anchal. 

At the end of the day, Anchal says respect is key. “[The fact that] you are family is most important, and then you are business partners.”