Leadership Lessons, Organizational Culture, and Business Growth Strategies: How Derek Ting Scaled Little Dings with Systems and Risk-Taking
Introduction: Leadership Lessons from an Unlikely Career Shift
What can leaders learn when an electrical engineer trades semiconductors for food festivals? For Derek Ting, founder of Little Dings Cafe, the answer was more than just entrepreneurship; it became a real-world case study in leadership lessons for entrepreneurs, organizational culture in business, operations management strategies, and financial strategies for growth.
On a recent episode of All Things LOCS, Derek revealed how he pivoted from engineering into launching a Taiwanese food brand that quickly scaled to major events like Coachella and EDC. His story highlights lessons every leader, whether in healthcare leadership, business operations, or organizational management, can apply.
As Derek explained: “I realized really fast in my first experience in the industry that I wasn’t going to get the growth and challenge I wanted… so I had to create it myself.”
Leadership Lessons for Entrepreneurs and Healthcare Leaders
Many professionals face the same dilemma Derek encountered: a stable, high-paying career that feels unfulfilling. His willingness to leave comfort behind demonstrates the leadership skills successful entrepreneurs and healthcare executives need when considering a career pivot or business transformation.
“There’s a real risk factor of staying in what you’re doing and how much lack of joy, anger, or sadness it brings you,” Derek explained.
Leadership takeaway: True leaders make bold moves not just for profit, but for alignment with purpose and long-term business objectives. The courage to pivot, whether it’s a career or a company strategy, is often the difference between business success and burnout.
Healthcare leadership insights mirror this struggle. Many professionals feel “trapped” by outdated systems, insurance constraints, or toxic cultures. Derek’s story is a reminder that leadership requires evaluating not just financial risk, but also the emotional and cultural cost of staying stuck.
Operations Management Strategies: How Systems Drive Business Growth
When Derek entered the food industry, he applied an engineer’s mindset to create scalable processes. Instead of treating each event as a one-off, he built formulas and systems that supported growth. In other words, he focused on scaling a business with systems.
“Everything was tested down to fry time, the marinade, how long it sat… I calculated everything so planning and execution became clear,” he shared.
This focus on process-driven operations allowed Little Dings to grow from a single night market to national festivals in less than three years.
Why Systems Improve Consistency, Scalability, and Efficiency
Consistency: In food, that means the same flavor every time. In healthcare, it means delivering the same patient experience across multiple clinics.
Scalability: Systems reduce reliance on a single expert and make growth replicable.
Efficiency: By shaving off seconds per order, Derek increased output dramatically. In business, even small efficiencies compound into significant financial gains.
For operations managers, this is a reminder that business processes, supply chain operations, and inventory management must be streamlined for consistent growth. Leveraging customer data, financial data, and key performance indicators (KPIs) ensures that leaders are making informed decisions that mitigate operational risks and create competitive advantage.
Healthcare organizations often fail here — relying too heavily on “the star doctor” or “the one manager who knows the process.” Derek’s model shows how systemization frees businesses from bottlenecks and enables true growth.
Building Organizational Culture That Thrives Under Pressure
Running food stands at raves, Comic-Con, and Coachella taught Derek and his team the importance of adaptability. Each event was unpredictable, forcing his team to stay resilient and collaborative.
“We didn’t know what we were signing ourselves up for. Every event was our first: our first night market, our first rave, our first music festival. And we had to learn on the spot.”
That trial by fire required building a strong organizational culture in business; one grounded in accountability, adaptability, and continuous improvement.
Employee Feedback: The Key to Continuous Improvement
One lesson Derek admits he learned late was the importance of listening:
“If I could go back, I’d ask more questions, about how the team felt, what was painful, what could be improved. Listening earlier would have made us stronger faster.”
For healthcare leaders, this resonates deeply. Burnout, high turnover, and disengagement often stem not from pay but from a culture where employee engagement and feedback are ignored. Derek’s story reinforces the value of cultivating open dialogue, tracking KPIs, and empowering employees to improve the system.
Financial Strategies for Sustainable Growth in Business and Healthcare
Most entrepreneurs assume growth comes from finding cheaper suppliers or slashing expenses. Derek flipped that thinking.
“It’s not always about finding the cheapest chicken. It’s about optimizing the system so you’re putting out 10 orders a minute instead of three.”
This mirrors the financial strategies for growth many healthcare organizations miss. Instead of racing to cut costs (which often reduces quality), leaders should focus on operational throughput, supply chain management, and smart resource allocation to improve cash flow.
Data-Driven Financial Strategies Leaders Can Apply
Pre-packing for volume: By prepping trays ahead of time, Derek reduced labor and increased speed; a dual win for cost and revenue.
Menu simplification: Streamlined offerings reduced waste and complexity while still delivering value.
Data-driven business decisions: Using formulas for event supply needs reduced over-purchasing, improved inventory management, and maximized profit margins.
These same strategies apply in healthcare: simplify services where possible, optimize workflows, and let data-driven decision making guide business models. Leaders who analyze customer data and financial data make more informed decisions that drive profitability and resilience.
Passion vs Curiosity: A Mindset Shift for Business and Healthcare Leaders
Derek also challenged the popular advice to “follow your passion.”
“I think passion can actually be an excuse. You don’t have to be 10 out of 10 passionate to start something. Just follow your interest — curiosity is enough to begin.”
This reflects the ongoing debate of curiosity vs passion in business. Waiting for the “perfect passion project” delays action. Instead, pursuing curiosity creates momentum, builds skills, and eventually shapes true passion.
In healthcare, this might look like testing a new patient retention program or piloting a leadership training course. You don’t need perfect certainty — just enough curiosity to try. For operations managers and leaders, this means taking calculated risks while still aligning with business objectives.
Risk-Taking in Business: How Compressed Timelines Accelerate Growth
Perhaps the boldest part of Derek’s story is how quickly he launched. Initially planning to start in his 30s, he was challenged by a friend: “Why not in four months instead of four years?”
That mindset shift changed everything.
“Imagine if I worked toward a four-year timeline, I’d be years behind. Instead, I went for four months, launched in six, and was ahead by three and a half years.”
For healthcare leaders bogged down in endless committees and slow approvals, this is a wake-up call. Taking calculated risks in entrepreneurship, especially through compressed timelines, forces rapid learning, innovation, and progress.
Conclusion: Leadership, Culture, and Operations in Action
Derek Ting’s journey illustrates how to combine leadership lessons, organizational culture in business, operations management strategies, and financial strategies for growth to achieve sustainable results. Whether you’re an entrepreneur or a healthcare leader, the principles are universal:
Lead with courage.
Build adaptable cultures.
Systemize operations for scale.
Optimize finances through efficiency and data-driven decision making.
Take risks and act fast.
As Derek summed it up: “Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. Align your actions with your goals, not with what you think you’re capable of. You’ll learn along the way.”
For leaders in healthcare and beyond, the lessons are clear: success isn’t about staying safe. It’s about taking risks, building systems, and creating a culture where both people and businesses thrive.
Feeling stuck in outdated systems, constant burnout, or slow growth? You’re not alone. In this All Things LOCS episode, Derek Ting shares the exact shifts that helped him scale Little Dings from one night market to Coachella.
Don’t just read about it.
Watch the full conversation and take the lessons into your own business.
