Youngest self-made female billionaire Lucy Guo advises startup founders to work …; sparks debate

The 30-year old tech billionaire and co-founder of ScaleAI, Lucy Guo is making headlines for her intense work ethic and her advice to other startup founders. At the age of 30, Guo has become the youngest self-made female billionaires after Meta made a major investment in her company. After the investment, Guo’s net worth increase to $1.3 billion surpassing popular pop icon Taylor Swift.

Apart from this, Guo is also known for her strict daily routine. She starts her day at 5.30 am with back-to-back workouts at Barry’s Bootcamp. She also skips her lunch in order to main her momentum during working hours. In an interview with CNBC, Guo said, “Most people could have work-life balance if they cut out what they waste time on after work—like doom scrolling or watching TV.”

Her daily routine also includes working till midnight and socialising till 2 a.m, but she still wakes up early for her workout routine. She claims that her ability to function with minimal sleep gives her more hours in the day as compared to others.

A call for 90-hour workweeks

Guo also shared an advice for startup founders. She urged the founders to embrace a 90-hour workweek at least in the initial period of building the company. Her stance echoes the controversial “996” culture—working 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week—prevalent in parts of China’s tech industry.

“When you’re first starting your company, it’s near impossible to do it without doing that,” she said, emphasizing that extreme effort is essential to get things off the ground.

While Guo’s discipline has earned admiration, her work philosophy has drawn criticism from mental health advocates and startup veterans.


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