Immigrant values, innovative vision: How Passes’ Lucy Guo carved her own path to tech leadership

Lucy Guo, who recently surpassed Taylor Swift as the youngest self-made woman billionaire, has transformed from product designer to pioneering tech founder and investor.

In this exclusive interview with The Rebel Yellow, the Passes founder and CEO reflects on her unique blend of immigrant work ethic and innovative vision, challenging norms while developing new pathways for creators and fellow Asian Americans in tech.

Rebel Yellow: As the daughter of Chinese immigrants, how did navigating cultural expectations shape your decision to pursue an unconventional path in tech?

Guo: Growing up in a Chinese immigrant household, there was definitely that cultural expectation to become a doctor, lawyer or engineer. At the end of the day, the desire for your child to be stable and successful is at the root of this pressure and expectation. But honestly, I always knew my path was going to be a little bit different.

The interesting twist is that many of those immigrant values — working incredibly hard, being resourceful, persisting — are exactly what make great founders. So while I rejected the specific career path my parents may have envisioned, I embodied the work ethic they instilled in me.

Rebel Yellow: You’ve recently surpassed Taylor Swift as the youngest self-made woman billionaire. How has this achievement influenced how you view your role as an Asian American leader in tech?

Guo: Becoming visible at this level has made me hyper-aware of my position as an Asian American woman in leadership positions where we’re still significantly underrepresented.

It’s a common story: Growing up, I didn’t see many people who looked like me founding companies, and the women who were celebrated in tech often fit a certain mold that I never did. I’ve become more intentional about visibility since representation truly matters and makes a difference for future generations.

I also feel a responsibility to be candid about my journey. Success, especially in tech, isn’t just about brilliant ideas — it’s about access to networks, capital and opportunities that aren’t equally distributed. So being in rooms where decisions are made allows me to advocate for changing that system from within.

Rebel Yellow: What was the pivotal moment that led you from being a product designer at Snap to co-founding Scale AI and eventually launching Passes?

Guo: At Snap, I was learning a ton about consumer products at scale, but my passion to build products from the ground up has always been a part of who I am. This passion was there when I was learning how to code and creating bots on “Neopets” and “Runescape” to resell in game items. It was there when I accepted my spot in the Thiel Fellowship and then participated in other side projects and hackathons — winning Product Hunt’s Maker of the Year. And it was dying to reemerge when I was working at Snap. All that to say, I don’t think there was a pivotal moment. With both Scale and Passes, through conversations with coworkers and friends, I felt that there was a problem that needed to be addressed, so I jumped at the opportunity.

With Passes, I saw creators in my direct circle of friends struggle with monetization. The big platforms were taking massive cuts of their earnings, the tools for creators to build actual brands and businesses were fragmented, and brand deals were inconsistent and provided unreliable income. So again, I jumped.

I operate on conviction. When I deeply understand a problem and see a solution that others either don’t see or don’t feel compelled to act upon, staying put feels riskier than leaping.

Rebel Yellow: Throughout your career, which barriers have been most challenging to overcome as both a woman and an Asian American in tech?

Guo: The most insidious barriers aren’t always the explicit biases — though those exist — but the subtle ones that make you question yourself. There’s this constant need to re-establish credibility. As an Asian American woman specifically, I found it really annoying when I had to constantly deal with people telling me that I only won hackathons and landed the jobs that I did because I was a woman. Another barrier that I still have to deal with is people spreading false rumors and information, purely out of envy.

Rebel Yellow: Passes secured $40M in funding during a difficult period for tech fundraising. What about your vision convinced investors when others were struggling?

Guo: Timing, for sure, played a huge role. We were building Passes as the creator economy kept exploding, and what we reiterated to our investors was that this explosion wasn’t dying down any time soon, and it hasn’t. When we first had this vision, investors were also seeing creators building these large brands (i.e. Kylie Jenner with makeup, Logan Paul with Prime, etc.) and their superfans were buying whatever these creators would sell. In the same way, we saw creators, big or small, as small businesses and potential unicorns.

The gap that we knew we had to address was that while the creator economy was growing at an incredible rate, the infrastructure wasn’t keeping pace. Creators with millions of followers were still cobbling together five different tools to run their businesses, and platforms were taking a huge chunk of their earnings. Smaller creators, with maybe 50,000 or 100,000 followers, didn’t know they can actually monetize their content in a meaningful way. There continues to be such a big opportunity for creators.

A huge difference that made us stand out was the fact that we were always tech first. Most creator economy companies were started by non-technical people. Another big difference was our approach to the market. Most creator economy companies were building from the perspective of platforms or advertisers. We focused relentlessly on what creators actually needed — more ownership, better resources and more tools. We weren’t just trying to take a slice of the creator economy; we were trying to expand it by enabling creators to build sustainable businesses. We’re building a totally new ecosystem as the first actual creator commerce platform.

Rebel Yellow: How has your background and identity influenced your approach to building Passes differently than other platforms in the creator economy?

Guo: I’ve watched my parents work within systems that weren’t designed with them in mind — they had to work twice as hard for the same recognition. That experience gives me empathy for creators who are building businesses on platforms that aren’t designed to help them succeed.

Passes is built on the principle that creators should own their audience and their revenue. As a tech-first platform, we focus our resources on building the best platform, rather than just trying to recruit the big, renowned creators. Creators, however large their following is, will eventually just adopt the best platform with the best tools, and that’s exactly what we’re building at Passes.

Even our approach to things like product design is different — we actually listen to creators instead of building something we hope they adopt. That sounds obvious, but it can be surprisingly rare in tech.

Rebel Yellow: With high-profile creators like Bella Thorne and Shaq on your platform, what feedback from them has most shaped Passes’ development?

Guo: What’s been fascinating to see is how creators of varying levels of fame leverage different tools on our platform. If you’re a major celebrity, you may want to use Passes differently than an emerging creator with 100K followers. Without naming specific creators, you could see a celebrity using Passes as a digital fan club with merch, live streams, etc. If you’re a psychic, for example, you may leverage our 1-1 features more, because that’s your core business. So having high-profile creators contrasted with emerging creators has been really helpful as we look at our product roadmap — we want to create tools for creators at all levels of fandom. What’s also really been impactful for us is seeing how our tools have literally changed lives. They’re paying off loans, buying their first houses, helping their families out. It really makes all of our hard work worth it.

Rebel Yellow: What does authentic representation mean to you now as a founder and investor compared to earlier in your career?

Guo: There’s a privilege in being able to think about representation, and quite frankly, I didn’t have that luxury when I was trying to get my first company off the ground. Now, I understand that authentic representation isn’t just about having diverse faces in photos or hitting quotas. It’s about having diverse perspectives influencing decisions at every level. As an investor myself, I’ve seen how homogeneous thinking leads to blind spots in products and missed market opportunities. Our vision and culture at Passes is built off of this mindset, in a way.

Rebel Yellow: How do you approach mentorship, particularly for young AAPI women interested in entrepreneurship?

Guo: My approach to mentorship is direct and practical — I’m not here to sugarcoat how challenging entrepreneurship can be, especially for AAPI women. We face unique obstacles that require a lot of resilience.

I try to help aspiring founders develop unwavering belief in their vision because the world will test that belief constantly. Another thing I’ve learned throughout the years is that access to networks is where many founders from underrepresented groups get stuck, so I try to be deliberate about opening those doors.

Rebel Yellow: Beyond Passes, what technological or cultural shifts do you believe will most impact the creator economy in the next five years?

Guo: First, AI has been under the spotlight and it’s already transforming content creation, but not in the way many fear. Rather than replacing creators, I see AI becoming a collaborator that handles the more mundane aspects of production. AI will allow creators to scale their time. For instance, instead of having to go to shoots to create ads for brands, they’ll be able to sell their likeness (via AI) and work with more brands — spending less time physically going to shoots and more time doing what they love — storytelling, connecting with fans, and working with more brands.

I also see a continuation of mass media fragmentation with creators building micro-economies around their communities. The definition of “creator” will expand beyond content production to include educators, curators, community builders and experience designers. This will create new categories of creator businesses we haven’t even imagined yet.

Another thing is that the boundary between physical and digital experiences is blurring. Creators will increasingly design experiences that move seamlessly between online and offline, ultimately creating deeper connections with their communities.

Rebel Yellow: What specific challenges or opportunities do you see for AAPI founders in the current tech landscape?

Guo: The current landscape presents both unique challenges and opportunities for AAPI founders. On the challenging side, the “model minority” myth creates this perception that Asian Americans are well-represented in tech, but that representation drops dramatically at the founder and executive levels. As for opportunities, there’s growing recognition that different cultural perspectives lead to innovative business models. Many AAPI founders have cross-cultural fluency that’s increasingly valuable in a global market. We often see opportunities that others miss because we navigate multiple cultural contexts.

Rebel Yellow: During AAPI Heritage Month, what is the most important message you want to share with young Asian Americans who see you as a pioneer?

Guo: The message I want to share is deceptively simple: your difference is your advantage. For so long, many of us were taught to downplay what makes us different — our cultural backgrounds, our perspectives, our ways of thinking — in order to assimilate. I did this too, earlier in my career, trying to fit the mold of what a tech founder “should” be. The world is unfair and unfortunately, that’s not going to change overnight. So, you just have to fight and work harder to win.

The perspectives you bring from navigating multiple cultures, from being both insider and outsider, from seeing systems that others take for granted — these are superpowers in entrepreneurship.

And when you do succeed, create space for others. Every barrier you break makes it easier for the next person. Build networks, invest in other founders, mentor, advocate — make your success multiply.