With 600 million views and full - network follow - up, the most intense "entrepreneurial reality show" in China makes me stay in an honest 9 - to - 5 job.

The continuous popularity of the live video connection sessions on "Yongge's Insights on Food and Beverage Entrepreneurship" has made many people realize that in the world of entrepreneurship, "making quick money" is often the root cause behind every painful lesson. Especially in the highly competitive food and beverage industry, where many experts are involved, simply relying on hard - work to get rich may just mean "enduring hardships only to face more hardships." Those who expect to become wealthy overnight may actually find themselves in an irrecoverable situation.

As the Chinese New Year approaches, it's time for the age - old tradition of going home for the holidays regardless of one's financial situation, and leaving major life decisions for after the new year. Young people who are already looking forward to the Spring Festival in advance have probably also learned the golden rule for chatting with relatives and gossiping during the New Year this year: Happiness is a result of comparison.

If you haven't learned it yet, just watch the entrepreneurship stories in Yongge's live - streaming room a few more times. "@Yongge's Insights on Food and Beverage Entrepreneurship" was originally an ordinary paid consultation live - streaming room for entrepreneurship information. However, it has become the most intense "Chinese entrepreneurship reality show" on the Chinese Internet today, and the real Spring Festival Gala sketches in the hearts of countless fun - seekers, thanks to the videos of various hardcore civilian entrepreneurs sharing their entrepreneurship experiences during the live video connections.

I second that. (Photo/Webpage screenshot)

A netizen once commented that it is recommended to watch Yongge's videos when life is going badly or too dull. You'll find that there are people who are even worse off than you in the most bizarre ways. People who contribute to quitting clubs at least get to enjoy a momentary sense of achievement after spending money. However, those who consult Yongge are mostly trapped in the "four - piece set of middle - aged bankruptcy" such as milk tea and bakery shops. They've spent a lot of money and suffered a great deal.

Who wouldn't want a cup of "Ne Zha's Immortal Drink" online? But in reality, it's better to just talk about it. In the Year of the Horse, the most popular New Year's greetings could be "May you get rich soon" or "Stop having impulsive entrepreneurship ideas right away and don't be an armchair critic in Yongge's live - streaming room later."

Netizens' photo - editing skills are really far - ahead. (Photo/Webpage screenshot)

01

A Multitude of Entrepreneurship Wizards

Some people may wonder why there are so many strange and amazing stories of entrepreneurs in Yongge's live - streaming room when there are millions of civilian entrepreneurs out there. The people who connect to the live - stream here always make one realize that there is always someone better and a broader world beyond one's imagination.

First of all, the main business of "@Yongge's Insights on Food and Beverage Entrepreneurship" is actually paid consultation services. Each person who connects to the live - stream has actually bought an entrepreneurship consultation course worth more than 300 yuan, and the live - stream connection opportunity is like a bonus. This sets an implicit threshold, ensuring that most of the people connecting to the live - stream really have problems to solve, and there are fewer "actors" trying to take advantage of the situation.

Of course, more people think that these three hundred - plus yuan is more like "mental compensation" for the host, Yongge. Earning this money is not at all enviable. On New Year's Day in 2026, "@Yongge's Insights on Food and Beverage Entrepreneurship" released an annual video titled "Collection of Pitfalls Throughout the Year," summarizing the classic cases of the whole year of 2025.

You really need to take a deep breath before opening the video. (Photo/ Zhihu)

The "heroes of entrepreneurship" on the list include but are not limited to:

"Invested 300,000 yuan in debt to join a printing shop franchise, but had to rent the printing equipment themselves while the headquarters only supplied printing paper."

"The '4th - generation hamburger' that was supposed to outperform McDonald's, KFC, Tastetime, and Wallace lost 900,000 yuan in 6 days."

"Opened a bar at the village entrance with a loan from parents and lost 180,000 yuan in 10 days."

"Couldn't get up early to run a breakfast shop selling steamed buns, then switched to opening a hot - pot restaurant and 'successfully' incurred a debt of 550,000 yuan."

"Selling freshly squeezed juice with tools in a washbasin, determined to compete with Mixue Bingcheng."

"Invested 1.6 million yuan to open a Korean coffee shop. When the headquarters went bankrupt, they became the general agent and lost the equivalent value of a Maybach."

"Rented a building that had been empty for 10 years for a million yuan and transformed it into a 'Milk Tea Building' integrating milk tea, snacks, and a mahjong room."

While some people are still trying to figure out the strange logic behind each of the above headlines, experienced viewers are already shouting out - "Come on, take a 360 - degree look around. What kind of business district do you think this is?"

A classic revisit: The location was chosen by a "master" using a compass. (Photo /@Yongge's Insights on Food and Beverage Entrepreneurship)

After watching just a few videos, you can directly apply the "diagnosis" formula in Yongge's live - streaming room: Hello, what problem have you encountered? Did you know me before opening the store? If you did, why didn't you ask me first? How much did it cost to open the store in total? Oh my god, the franchise fee, decoration fee, equipment, and supplies already cost xx0,000 yuan. What were you thinking? Where is the company headquarters? Have you been to the headquarters? Does the headquarters have a physical store or is it just a sample room? You can't do it, buddy. There is no customer flow at all. Close the store. Close it today. Sue them and get your franchise fee back. I'll have the legal department sort out a process for you. Do you have any other questions? Okay, then that's it. Bye.

Correspondingly, the people seeking help also have a set of similar standard answers: "I originally wanted to join the franchise of Mixue Bingcheng / Luckin Coffee / Tastetime." "I just searched on the official website randomly." "The teacher said it was too popular to join, and this is a newly launched brand under it, which is more profitable." "I think there is a market." "The location - selection teacher chose it and said it was okay." "The headquarters said they would take care of everything." "The turnover has never increased." "What should I do now?"... Maybe due to excessive stress or to cover up embarrassment, many people connecting to the live - stream will burst into nervous laughter from time to time, which is called the "voice of wisdom" by netizens. "Maybe it's because the brain is overloaded, and in order to protect themselves, people activate a defense mechanism to escape the painful reality."

(Photo/@Yongge's Insights on Food and Beverage Entrepreneurship)

Who would have thought that "entrepreneurial jokes" like opening a gym in the countryside or selling down jackets in Sanya could become real pitfalls that others have already stepped into or are currently facing in Yongge's live - streaming room. The people connecting to the live - stream often don't even understand gross profit margin but dare to mortgage their property to open a milk tea shop. They take an eight - hour train to the headquarters to sign a franchise contract but don't know whether they are signing a contract or an agreement. They do zero market research in the early stage, saying "others won't tell me," and know nothing about the operating data. When asked, they just say "I think it's okay."

On Zhihu, the question "How to evaluate Yongge's insights on the food and beverage industry?" has been viewed more than 93 million times. The most up - voted answer goes like this: "Yongge said in one of his videos: It's easy to deceive the poor, but hard to make money from them. If you ask them to spend 399 yuan to learn how to choose a location, select products, and do business, they'll think it's too troublesome. Why do they have to learn by themselves after spending money? But if you deceive them into believing that they can just lie back and make money every month by paying 300,000 yuan, there will be a continuous stream of people willing to pay."

I don't think it'll work.jpg. (Photo/@Original Content by Yongge on Food and Beverage)

After watching these cases in the live - streaming room, it really proves the old saying: There is no such thing as a free lunch.

02

From Middle - class in the County to Almost Bankrupt,

How Many Steps Does It Take?

With the popularity of Yongge's live - streaming room, the concept of the "four - piece set of middle - class bankruptcy in the county" has become increasingly familiar: Middle - aged people who want to start a business should never touch coffee, milk tea, hamburgers, and bakeries.

Once you target these four categories and follow the three - step process that most failed entrepreneurs go through, it's hard not to go bankrupt. Step one: Fall into a franchise scam and get precisely exploited. Step two: Ignore market laws and come up with "genius" ideas for store positioning and location selection. Step three: Have a messy internal management and operation, which accelerates the process of failure.

"Continuously updating..." (Photo/Webpage screenshot)

In many cases of live - stream connections, the term "quick - recruitment" appears very frequently. Many entrepreneurs are victims of "quick - recruitment" franchise scams. They originally wanted to join a popular brand but accidentally entered a fake website and finally fell into the trap of criminal gangs. Such stories are no longer new.

Quick - recruitment companies are those that focus on rapid business recruitment. Most of these companies are shell companies in the food and beverage industry. "Quick franchise, quick store opening, quick store closing" - on one hand, they weave dreams of getting rich with unknown brands, and on the other hand, they squeeze the franchisees with hidden unreasonable terms and various fees. This is the essence of quick - recruitment companies.

(Photo/@Xinmin Video)

According to the analysis by Tushushi, the essence of "quick - recruitment" projects is to collect fees rather than conduct real business operations. While franchisees are still immersed in the dream of "one - click store opening, short - term return on investment, and guaranteed after - sales service," the company has already cashed out and left, completing the "perfect" cycle of "establishment → fraud → running away → re - establishment."

In the classic cases of 2025 summarized in Yongge's live - streaming room, there is one about selling hyaluronic acid goat milk coffee in an office building. Here, a new type of swindling scheme appears: The customer connecting to the live - stream invested more than 400,000 yuan in franchise fees and got a car worth more than 200,000 yuan from the headquarters. However, the car is registered under the company's name and can only be transferred to the franchisee after 4 years. Therefore, the car the franchisee gets is actually the company's fixed asset, and the company can depreciate it at a very low cost after 4 years, "with very little tax that can be ignored." Joining such a company is almost like being sold and still helping the scammers count the money.

After watching this, it feels like your brain is growing. (Photo/Webpage screenshot)

It can be said that one of the most important mid - life anxieties for county residents is to avoid being targeted and trapped by quick - recruitment companies. From 2015 to 2025, the national per capita disposable income increased from nearly 22,000 yuan to 43,000 yuan, almost doubling in ten years. Different from those in first - tier cities, middle - aged people in the county have passed the most stressful stage of life, and the cost of living is relatively low. They "have money, leisure, and more anxiety."