In this episode, we explore the evolving mother–sons dynamic behind Lo & Sons, the family-run travel brand founded when Helen Lo was 65. What began as Helen’s frustration with not being able to find a lightweight, stylish, functional travel bag became the spark that launched the company’s very first product and, ultimately, their entire family business.
Helen and her son Jan reflect on how this unexpected, late-in-life leap reshaped both their relationship and their roles as collaborators. They share how Helen’s upbringing, spanning China, Macau, and a Catholic boarding school, instilled the resilience, empathy, and global curiosity that continue to guide their approach today.
Now 15 years in, Lo & Sons faces the realities of a shifting economic landscape, prompting yet another evolution in how the family leads, communicates, and adapts together. Through moments of vulnerability, humour, and honesty, Helen and Jan open up about navigating role reversals, supporting each other through uncertainty, and staying rooted in the values and the very first bag that set their journey in motion.
It’s a story of reinvention, intergenerational learning, and the courage to build something meaningful, together, at any age.
About our guests:
Helen Lo, Board Chair and co-founder of Lo & Sons, launched the travel bag company in 2010 at age 65 after years of searching for a lightweight, stylish, and functional carry-on. Born in southern Mainland China and raised in Macau, she later earned a B.A. in psychology from the University of Massachusetts and a PhD in Social Welfare Administration from Brandeis. Before founding the company, she built a career as a community health administrator and consultant while raising her two sons, Jan and Derek, and relocating frequently for her husband Fred Lo’s astronomy career. Her frustration as an avid traveler inspired her son Jan, a product design researcher, to encourage her to create her own ideal bag. Jan, now Chief Innovation Officer, brought extensive experience in human-centered design, ethnographic research, and business education, having studied at Yale and NYU and worked in Beijing conducting design research. Together, Helen and Jan spent countless hours in airports observing travelers to understand real-world needs, and these insights shaped Lo & Sons’ earliest products. Their research-driven, user-centered approach led to signature features like intuitive pockets, protective tech compartments, and sleeves that securely slide over suitcase handles. Derek later joined to lead marketing, completing the family-run founding team. Under Helen and Jan’s leadership, the company has grown into a widely respected maker of premium travel and lifestyle bags. Today, Lo & Sons continues to prioritize thoughtful design along with environmental and social responsibility. The brand has introduced materials such as organic cotton canvas and recycled polyester made from water bottles. The company has also partnered with a solar-powered Cambodian factory working toward carbon neutrality. Jan spearheaded several circular design initiatives, including the deconstruction and upcycling of damaged or returned bags into new, small-batch products made in the U.S.