The Pearl Origin Story

Deciding on a name for a company is a difficult venture as it ultimately becomes an important aspect of an organization’s brand. Pearl Pathways’ CEO, Gretchen Bowker, wanted the name of the life science start-up to embody the company’s mission. While brainstorming ideas, the tag line “accelerating product development pathways” was considered. The company was founded with the mission to accelerate product development, so the word “pathways” stuck. From there, the essence of what this new company should represent within the life science industry was formed.

The formation of a pearl resonated with the founders as a metaphor for the story and ideology of the company. Oysters form pearls in response to an irritant. When a grain of sand or another object falls between the shell and the mantle, the oyster produces nacre, a strong and resilient composite material, to protect itself from irritation. The gem is formed from layers of nacre coating the irritant. Thus, the oyster creates a gemstone.

Pearl helps clients navigate through the challenges of drug and device development. Pearl Pathways represents for its clients the gemstone that emerges from the muck of drug and device development. Furthermore, Pearl Pathways was formed to exist as a gem of insight and brilliance for its clients, resulting in the combination of the concepts “pearl” and “pathway”.  So, Pearl Pathways was born.