From a one man stall owner in Goldenmile tower, 24 years old Lester Li built an F&B empire by serving egg fried rice! We contacted him and did an interview of his success story.
1) How did KOF started?
KOFR started in 2018, I was brought up by my mum alone as my parents are divorced, my dad is in China, I don’t want to start disappoint my mum anymore as my past was horrible, I hope to do something to make my mum proud.
2) What inspired you to start a fried rice stall?
I started working in FNB when I was 14 years old, I don’t like to study, I got no choice but to learn a skill instead of a cert, I love fried rice myself, all of my buddies and friends love fried rice as well, so I thought hey why not I learnt how to make the best fried rice while everyone can enjoy
3) Was expansion always part of your plan?
I always wanted to expand, I go thru the steady path as I make sure my outlets are stable before opening the next one., I just can’t spoil my name in this market.
4) How did you managed to open so many stalls and what was the duration to achieve 11 outlets?
I always thank the team behind me which is my operations team, they do a fantastic job, and contributed tons to my success. I go fast after I found my strong team! We are on track for opening 20 outlet by this year end!
5) How do you make sure the standard remains the same throughout all outlets?
I personally will go around all the outlets to make sure they follow my SOP, my team know my style, if they don’t follow, they will be in trouble 🤣 after following me for so long they truly know my style.
6) What difficulties have you faced along the way
I face challenges such as not enough manpower, the huge challenge is recruitment itself!
7) Any advise for young entrepreneurs?
30% fate, 50% hardwork, 20% luck. POWER OF DREAMS HAHAHAHA