A Serial Entrepreneur's Failures Led to YouTube Success
Executive Summary
Shopify Masters episode in which host Benjamin Gottlieb talks with Wil Yeung, a serial entrepreneur who has run violin drop shipping, a music school, a coconut milk business and a photography service, and now has a plant-based cooking YouTube channel, Yeung Man Cooking, with nearly 1.5 million subscribers. Wil says curiosity is a powerful trait for an entrepreneur, that past failures taught him what to keep and discard, and that he is grateful for them in retrospect. He describes the music school's early negative income, selling it after turning it around, and says everything starts as a side hustle and he never had a formal business plan. He also discusses choosing products and recipes to sell. Sponsor named: Shopify, which hosts the show. PARTIAL COVERAGE: this note draws on the opening, the failures, the music school story and the niche and monetization sections, and may miss parts of the roughly 25 minute video. Personal stories and business results are Wil's own and not independently checked. Nothing here is medical, dietary, legal or financial advice.
Key Takeaways
Curiosity as a trait
Wil says curiosity is a powerful trait for an entrepreneur and compares it to being a scientist.
Defining failure
He says deciding whether a business succeeded or failed is one of the biggest sticking points for new entrepreneurs.
Keep and discard
He says he kept the aspects he liked from failed businesses and discarded the rest in a refining process.
Grateful for failures
He says he is glad he did photography, videography, violins and coconut milk because each led to the channel.
The music school
He says the music school started with a loan and he made negative money for the first couple of years, then broke even in about a year and a half.
Just get started
He says everything starts as a side hustle and he never made a formal business plan.
Products from the audience
He discusses choosing merch, cookbooks and recipes based on what his YouTube audience wants.
The Conversation Breakdown
Curiosity as a trait
⏱ Untimed topicWil says curiosity is a powerful trait for an entrepreneur and compares it to being a scientist.
Defining failure
⏱ Untimed topicHe says deciding whether a business succeeded or failed is one of the biggest sticking points for new entrepreneurs.
Keep and discard
⏱ Untimed topicHe says he kept the aspects he liked from failed businesses and discarded the rest in a refining process.
Grateful for failures
⏱ Untimed topicHe says he is glad he did photography, videography, violins and coconut milk because each led to the channel.
The music school
⏱ Untimed topicHe says the music school started with a loan and he made negative money for the first couple of years, then broke even in about a year and a half.
Just get started
⏱ Untimed topicHe says everything starts as a side hustle and he never made a formal business plan.
Products from the audience
⏱ Untimed topicHe discusses choosing merch, cookbooks and recipes based on what his YouTube audience wants.
Core Frameworks & Ideas
Be curious like a scientist - Wil's mindset
Try things and observe what happens.
Keep what you liked - Wil's refining process
Carry forward the parts of a failed business that worked.
Start as a side hustle - Wil's advice
Begin with a hobby you are excited to work on.
Actionable Next Steps
- ✓Write down what you liked and disliked about a past project and what you would keep.
- ✓Start one small side project on something you enjoy without writing a full plan.
- ✓Track what your audience asks for before choosing products to sell.
- ✓Treat Wil's business results and views as his own, not as financial or dietary advice.
Notable Quotes
“I really believe that curiosity is a powerful trait as an entrepreneur”
“I always tell people just get started everything starts as a side hustle”
“it's that ongoing curiosity that really kept me just fired up”
The One Thing to Remember
Wil Yeung says curiosity, learning from failed businesses and starting something as a side hustle led him to a successful YouTube cooking business.