Won Yip

About Won Yip

Won Yip is one of the most successful hospitality entrepreneurs in the Netherlands and a prime example of entrepreneurial spirit and perseverance. What began with the purchase of a pub in Goes at the age of 19 grew into an impressive empire in Amsterdam, where he owns nearly all the hospitality venues around the Dam. His adventurous entrepreneurial journey, combined with his investments in real estate and startups, makes Won Yip a unique and inspiring speaker.

Won Yip was born to Chinese parents who fled to the Netherlands in the early sixties and ran a Chinese restaurant in Vlissingen. He attended the mavo at the Prins Willem Alexander College in Vlissingen but left school at the age of fourteen without a diploma. At nineteen, he bought his first café at the Grote Markt in Goes, followed by a second café a year later at the Dam in Amsterdam. By 2021, he was among the largest hospitality operators in Amsterdam, with multiple cafés on and around the Dam.

In addition to various hospitality businesses in the Netherlands, Yip became a co-owner of the restaurant chain Sushisamba in 2017. He also owns real estate and investments in multiple countries. In 2016, he acquired a floor in the Amsterdam building Pontsteiger, which was then presented as the largest and most expensive apartment in the Netherlands. He divided the floor into four parts and sold the largest part within three years; in 2019, he still retained a quarter of the original penthouse. Yip was also the client for the hotel The Diamond, which is set to open in 2024 at the Leidseplein in Amsterdam, notable for its controversial architecture.