About

I've signed the leases. I've sat across from the investors.

Everything on this site comes from doing the thing, not theorizing about it.

I'm Wilson K Lee. I spent about two decades in F&B. I built my dessert brand 720 Sweets from a few thousand dollars into seven locations across Edmonton and Beijing, engineered it to serve over 100 bubble teas an hour (two drinks a minute, on systems, not talent), and then sold the brand.

Since then I've consulted for hundreds of operators, served on the Board of Advisors of Plant Veda (a publicly traded F&B company), and partnered with Workstream, which gives me a window into hiring data across 35,000+ restaurant brands, including 46 of the top 50 QSR chains.

My YouTube channel (211,000+ subscribers) is where I break down what it really costs to open food businesses, why they fail, and how to run them profitably. This site is the written home of all of it, plus a free tool that runs your exact startup numbers. The itemized track record — the exit, the boardroom, the students — lives on The Receipts.

What I believe about this business

• Know your three numbers or you're flying blind: your average ticket, your prime cost (aim 25/25/25), and your burn rate.
• Restaurant margins are 3 to 5%. There is no room for vibes. Revenue is not profit.
• Constraints are the moat. The fewer things you sell, the better you sell them.
• Cash after you open beats cash to open. Multiply your budget by 1.4 before you sign anything.
• If the business only runs when you're there, you've built a job, not a business.

Start with the guides, run your numbers in the free tool, grab the worksheets in the Toolkit, and when you're ready to go deeper, the Profitable Restaurant Owner Academy is free too. If you're already running a spot and want me in your corner, here's how that works.

Take all of it as reference, not Bible. And with that, friends, I'll see you in the next one.

Use these images

The charts, receipts, and miniature scenes on this site are free to embed and reuse in your own articles, decks, and posts. One condition: credit wilsonklee.com with a link. The article images are AI-made scenes and hand-built-style miniatures, not photos of real shops. The numbers are the real part, and those come from my own calculator model.

Questions people ask about Wilson

Who is Wilson K Lee?

Wilson K Lee is a food and beverage founder who built the dessert brand 720 Sweets from one shop to seven locations across two countries, sold the brand, and now teaches aspiring and current owners how to open and run profitable food businesses. His YouTube channel has over 211,000 subscribers, and he has advised hundreds of operators. He also served on the Board of Advisors of Plant Veda, a publicly traded F&B company.

What is 720 Sweets?

720 Sweets is the dessert and bubble tea brand Wilson K Lee built from a few thousand dollars into seven locations across Edmonton and Beijing, then sold. At peak it served over 100 bubble teas an hour, about two drinks a minute, on systems rather than talent.

What does Wilson K Lee teach?

Wilson teaches the numbers side of opening and running food businesses: what it really costs to open each concept, the x1.4 cash rule before signing a lease, the 25/25/25 prime-cost target, and the three numbers to track weekly. All of it comes from operating experience, not theory.

Is Wilson K Lee's training free?

Yes. The guides, the startup-cost calculator, the printable toolkit, and the Profitable Restaurant Owner Academy course are all free. Paid advisory exists only for owners who want Wilson directly in their corner, and it is application-based.