At 30, Lucy Guo (California, USA) has achieved what many pursue their entire lives. In April, she became a billionaire when her stake in the startup Scale AI was valued at 1.3 billion USD. Guo thus became the youngest self-made female billionaire in the USA – a title previously held by singer Taylor Swift.
"Honestly, I still feel the same. My life hasn't changed much before and after the money," Guo said in a recent interview with CNBC.
In 2016, Guo and Alexander Wang co-founded Scale AI, a company that labels AI data (a step in the artificial intelligence training process). Guo was in charge of operations and product design. However, she left the company in 2018 due to disagreements with Wang.
"We disagreed about product and sales," Guo explained. "Alex was very focused on attracting more customers to increase revenue, while I focused on the product and ensuring employees were paid on time and their working hours were accurately calculated."
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Lucy Guo - the youngest self-made female billionaire in the USA. Photo: Passes |
Lucy Guo - the youngest self-made female billionaire in the USA. Photo: Passes
After leaving the company, Guo retained her shares, which currently account for less than 5% of Scale AI. When Meta agreed to acquire 49% of the company's shares, the value of Guo's holdings also skyrocketed. According to Forbes, Guo's current net worth is 1.3 billion USD.
Guo has a passion for startups. She didn't rest for long, establishing Backend Capital, a venture capital fund investing in early-stage technology startups, in 2019. In 2022, she founded Passes, a monetization platform for content creators, which has raised 65 million USD to date.
Since becoming a billionaire, Guo continues to work intensely. "I still have very long workdays," she said.
Guo belongs to the group of people who like to optimize their workday for maximum efficiency. Becoming a billionaire isn't a reason for her to slow down.
A typical day for Guo starts at 5:30 a.m. with two consecutive gym sessions. Lunch is a luxury for her. Guo often eats during meetings because her schedule doesn't allow for breaks.
"I think most people can balance work and life if they eliminate time-wasting activities at home, like mindlessly scrolling through TikTok or watching TV," she said.
For balance, Guo allows herself one weekend day off. From noon to 6:00 p.m., she dedicates her time entirely to friends, then returns to work. "I feel like I have more time in the day. I'm really lucky I don't need much sleep," Guo said. She can work until midnight, go out until 2:00 a.m., then sleep and wake up at 6:00 a.m. to go to the gym.
Guo's packed schedule reflects the 24/7 work ethic of Silicon Valley, similar to the infamous "996" culture in China – working from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., six days a week. "For me, 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. is still balanced. You can still go out to dinner with friends afterward," she explained.
This culture of continuous work has recently faced criticism. However, Guo shared that when starting her business, she "almost couldn't avoid 996 if she wanted to take the company forward." As the company grew, hired more staff, and began to stabilize, she could reduce her working hours.
However, she also stated that to become a billionaire, people don't necessarily have to work intensely. If you consistently invest hundreds of thousands of USD in the S&P 500, your assets could eventually reach the billion-dollar mark.
"I don't think you need to work long hours to become a billionaire. It depends on your choices. If you choose to start a tech company, you'll have to work long hours initially. But if you invest, you won't need to do that," she said.
Guo describes herself as a "minimalist." Most of her clothes are not branded and cost around 10 USD each. Occasionally, if attending an event, she might wear a nice piece of jewelry. Guo also enjoys ordering food through apps and using ride-hailing services when going out.
"My everyday life is quite quiet," she concluded.
Ha Thu (CNBC)
