Nelson Lin is a retired Chinese restaurant child laborer, with decades of experience in the food industry and shoving down his feelings. He currently takes credit for running Soupleaf Hot Pot with his mom and brother, which is Austin's first all you can eat hot pot restaurant. He also runs a meme group called Subtle Asian Real Estate, with over 23,000 members helping each other get from 0 to 1 on their first home. Subtle Asset Management, his investment company, primarily focuses on funding affordable housing with $35M AUM. He has degrees in engineering from Columbia University and Cal Poly SLO, and was formerly a techie at Apple, Microsoft, and Brookfield Asset Management.

Topics Covered:

• The history of his family from the Fujian province in China.
• Austin's welcoming environment for restaurateurs
• The difference between Austin's Asian food scene and other larger areas
• Mom and pop run Asian restaurants vs a newer wave of restaurants
• Running a restaurant with family members
• Striking balance of authenticity when serving hot pot
• The success behind Soupleaf
• Investing in real estate and tips on how to get started

Materials Referenced:

• Soupleaf Hotpot
• Subtle Asian Real Estate Group
• The Snakehead: An Epic Tale of the Chinatown Underworld and the American Dream by Patrick Radden