About Us
We Build Food Businesses That Work
— From Vision to Execution
Livinism is a consultancy founded by two brothers who started as architects and became full-stack business operators — learning by building, failing, fixing, and growing in the real world.
We help restaurant owners and food entrepreneurs turn ideas into clear systems, strong formats, and spaces that work — for customers, teams, and owners.
Our Story
We didn’t plan to become consultants.
Back in 2005, we were two young architects — fresh into our careers, quietly imagining what it would take to build something of our own.
At the time, we were working at Benoy, a UK-based architecture firm known for landmark shopping malls like Bluewater and Bullring. Through large-scale retail projects across Asia, we weren’t just designing — we were learning how real businesses worked, how people moved through space, what shaped spending, and why some formats thrived while others didn’t.
It made us wonder:
What if we didn’t just design for other people’s success… but built something of our own?
So we set up Livinism — not as a consultancy, but as a container for future ideas. We didn’t know exactly what we’d build. We just knew we wanted freedom, and believed our creative instincts could carry over into business.
In 2006, Donald moved to Thailand to explore opportunities on the ground. Mickey stayed in Hong Kong, continuing at Benoy while supporting early ventures on the side. In 2007, he helped set up a small education business with his wife — still running today — while both brothers continued to explore what it really takes to build a working business.
By 2010, we were doing it full-time — consulting for others while building our own restaurant businesses. Every challenge we worked through — in our own businesses or with clients — deepened our understanding of what actually makes a concept work.
In 2023, Mickey relocated to the UK with his family. While continuing to manage operations in Thailand and Hong Kong remotely, we decided to focus Livinism on what we care most about:
Helping restaurant owners and food entrepreneurs build businesses that customers understand, staff can run, and owners can grow.
We’ve been on both sides of the table. We know how it feels to bet everything on an idea, and what it takes to make it sustainable.
Livinism exists to help others avoid the blind spots we’ve faced ourselves.
Meet the Founders
Mickey Woo – Co-Founder (UK-Based)
Mickey has been UK-educated since age 16, attending Truro School in Cornwall and earning his architecture degree from Oxford Brookes University, where he met his British wife. After graduating, he worked at David Chipperfield Architects in London before joining Benoy, where he became Associate Director — overseeing large commercial projects across Asia and drawing heavily from UK references like Bluewater and Bullring.
After leaving Benoy, Mickey and Donald began consulting and building their own businesses together. Today, Mickey is based in the UK and manages strategy, operations, and finance across their ventures.
His focus is on helping restaurant owners and food entrepreneurs bring structure and logic to passionate ideas — while keeping the big picture in view.
Donald Woo – Co-Founder (Thailand-Based)
Donald also studied at Truro School and graduated from Oxford Brookes University, before joining Benoy as an architectural designer. In 2006, he moved to Thailand to explore startup opportunities. After Mickey left Benoy, the brothers began working full-time — consulting for clients and building their own restaurant brands from scratch.
Donald now leads hands-on execution in Southeast Asia while working closely with Mickey to align strategy with what actually works on the ground.
Livinism is their shared platform — shaped by years of doing the work, learning from experience, and helping others build real businesses with clarity and confidence.
If You’re Building Something Worth Building
Whether you're starting a food concept, repositioning a space, or simply tired of surface-level advice — we’d love to talk.