<div id="readability-page-1" class="page"><article id="post-2407">
			
	
	<div>
			
<p>During Spring Break, I took my daughter to Taiwan. We visited the world-famous original location of Din Tai Fung.</p>



<p>The wait was 45 minutes, which was actually considered short (By the time we finished eating, the wait had grown to 170 minutes!)<br>Since we had some time to kill, we walked around the neighborhood.</p>



<p>One thing stood out to me: there were several other dim sum restaurants nearby. After all, Din Tai Fung is located in Yongkang Street, one of Taipei’s most famous food districts. And I could see some of these restaurants had clearly been around for a long time too.</p>



<p>But none came close to the popularity and success of Din Tai Fung.<br>That got me thinking: what created the separation?</p>



<p>My guess is that, early on, there may have been a small difference in food quality or operational excellence. But once that small lead formed, scale effects kicked in: more customers led to more revenue, which enabled more expansion, stronger branding, and more investment.</p>



<p>Success begot more success. The snowball kept rolling. And eventually, what may have started as a small advantage became nearly impossible to catch up to.</p>



<p>That’s often how startups work too. Build an initial edge, then let compounding do the rest.</p>



<p>I don’t know the full story behind Din Tai Fung, but I do know this: they were not the only dim sum restaurant on Yongkang Street.</p>
					</div>
</article></div>

Chang Kim's Homepage

During Spring Break, I took my daughter to Taiwan. We visited the world-famous original location of Din Tai Fung.
The wait was 45 minutes, which was actually considered short (By the time we finished eating, the wait had grown to 170 minutes!)
Since we had some time to kill, we walked around the neighborhood.
One thing stood out to me: there were several other dim sum restaurants nearby. After all, Din Tai Fung is located in Yongkang Street, one of Taipei’s most famous food districts. And I could see some of these restaurants had clearly been around for a long time too.
But none came close to the popularity and success of Din Tai Fung.
That got me thinking: what created the separation?
My guess is that, early on, there may have been a small difference in food quality or operational excellence. But once that small lead formed, scale effects kicked in: more customers led to more revenue, which enabled more expansion, stronger branding, and more investment.
Success begot more success. The snowball kept rolling. And eventually, what may have started as a small advantage became nearly impossible to catch up to.
That’s often how startups work too. Build an initial edge, then let compounding do the rest.
I don’t know the full story behind Din Tai Fung, but I do know this: they were not the only dim sum restaurant on Yongkang Street.

The Din Tai Fung Story

댓글