economy
Your Rich BFF's Vivian Tu built her career on spite and became a millionaire at 27—now she's redefining success
Financial educator Vivian Tu, founder of Your Rich BFF, says she modeled her ambitions to be "so conventionally successful" to "spite a hater or spite someone who didn't believe in me."
TL;DR
- Vivian Tu credits spite for fueling her rise from Wall Street trader to millionaire media personality and founder of Your Rich BFF.
- She achieved conventional success, landing on The New York Times bestseller and Forbes 30 Under 30 lists by age 27.
- Tu learned to avoid making impulsive career decisions based on anger, taking advice from a mentor to transition from J.P. Morgan to BuzzFeed.
- At BuzzFeed, she excelled in media sales, earning $625,000 in her last year, before launching Your Rich BFF on TikTok.
- Her initial drive stemmed from deep insecurity and a focus on quantifiable success, but it has shifted to seeking meaningful work.
- Tu now defines success by waking up daily feeling her work is meaningful, a sentiment she believes her younger self wouldn't recognize.