RIP Din Tai Fung Founder: Life Lessons of Yang Bing-Yi’s Journey Across China’s Civil War, Taiwan Refugee, Cooking Oil Delivery Man, Entrepreneurial Couple, Pivoting at 45 & Retiree Dumpling Billionaire - E275

“The world is full of 20 and 30-year-olds who feel frustrated that they could be doing something with their lives or that they should be on the world stage. It's refreshing to reset and think about Din Tai Fung, a very famous restaurant chain that only succeeded after Yang Bing Yi’s product-market fit pivoted when he was 45. It's not a guarantee that everybody will be successful. Even if success arrives, it may not be on your desired schedule. It may come later, after a lot of hard work, pivoting, and pain." - Jeremy Au

"It's crazy how he went through a ton of wars. As a young man, he saw people dying and being drafted. He saw relatives and friends fighting one another and witnessed multiple government changes. In many ways, his story is unique, and yet it also represents the diaspora in the 1900’s where people left China in search of peace, a job, and a place to be."- Jeremy Au

"We often think about luck, being mentioned by the press, and accolades as being the things that create opportunity, yet the opportunity actually only emerges because you've been working your ass off for so many years." - Jeremy Au

Jeremy Au, in his reflections, discusses the life of Din Tai Fung's founder Yang Bing-Yi, who passed away at the age of 96. Din Tai Fung is now an award-winning chain restaurant, famous for its soup dumplings, and has over 170 locations worldwide. However, in 1958, Din Tai Fung was founded as a tribute to Heng Tai Fung, Yang's former workplace, and DinMei Oils, their oil supplier. Initially, Din Tai Fung sold peanut oil and bottles, which was a solid business until the market changed, and vegetable oils became packaged in tin containers. In 1972, they pivoted half of the store to sell xiao long bao, the steamed soup dumplings, which became incredibly popular. Din Tai Fung continued to evolve and eventually focused only on selling food, leading to international success. Yang's unique story of success, business pivots, perseverance, and hard work is a representation of the diaspora in the 1900s, where people left China in search of peace and a better life. Jeremy Au reflects on Yang's journey and emphasizes the lessons of hard work, consistency, resilience, and adaptability that can be learned from his life story.

Read the transcript at https://www.bravesea.com/blog/din-tai-fung

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