Lucy Guo, a 30-year-old college dropout, has recently made headlines by joining the Forbes list with an estimated net worth of $1.3 billion (approximately Rs 1.15 lakh crore). This achievement unseats Taylor Swift, who previously held the title of the world's youngest self-made woman billionaire.
Guo's journey to billionaire status began with her involvement in the tech industry. She co-founded Scale AI, a San Francisco-based data annotation company that provides labeled data for training artificial intelligence applications, in 2016 when she was just 21 years old. Despite dropping out of Carnegie Mellon University, where she studied computer science and human-computer interactions, Guo's entrepreneurial spirit and coding skills, which she picked up in middle school, propelled her forward.
At Scale AI, Guo managed the operations and product design teams, while her co-founder, Alexandr Wang, served as CEO. However, disagreements over the company's direction led to Guo's departure. Despite leaving Scale AI, she retained a 5% stake, which is now worth approximately $1.2 billion.
After leaving Scale AI, Guo ventured into venture capital, launching Backend Capital to invest in early-stage companies. One of her successful investments was in Ramp, a financial software firm now valued at $13 billion. In 2022, Guo shifted her focus again, founding Passes, a platform similar to Patreon and OnlyFans, where creators can connect with fans who pay for online interactions. Passes has garnered significant investment, valuing the company at $150 million.
Guo's success story is particularly notable as she is one of only six self-made women billionaires under the age of 40. She also stands out as the only one who has amassed the majority of her wealth from a company she left years ago.
Guo, the daughter of Chinese immigrants raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, attributes her success to the values instilled by her parents: discipline, education, and frugality. She emphasizes the importance of living below one's means and saving diligently. Despite her billionaire status, Guo maintains a frugal lifestyle, highlighting her grounded approach to wealth.
When asked about her billionaire status, Guo responded, "I don't really think about it much, it's a bit wild. Too bad it's all on paper haha". She also acknowledged Taylor Swift as an icon and expressed hope that Swift is "okay" with Guo taking her title.
Guo's advice to other women entrepreneurs is to work harder, prove everyone wrong, and use discrimination as a driving force to succeed. Her journey exemplifies how a college dropout, driven by entrepreneurial passion and a strong work ethic, can achieve remarkable success and join the ranks of the world's wealthiest individuals.
