Vietnamese-American became a Wall Street millionaire at the age of 27

“As a child growing up on welfare in Fresno, California, I learned early on to do things for myself,” Jenny Q. Ta, 45, told CNN.

Jenny Q. Ta graduated from high school a year early and earned a degree in business information systems from the University of California in just three years. At just 21, she took her first job at Lehman Brothers, making $10 an hour. “It was a filing clerk,” Jenny says.

The woman quickly grasped the job and joined the brokerage field. However, after a year, she quit her job. “People say it can take a woman years to advance and become a broker,” the Vietnamese-American millionaire said.

Jenny inherited her mother's recklessness and determination. Photo: CNN

Jenny worked as an independent broker for a few years and then decided to open her own firm. She recruited her brokerage friends to come work for her and promised to pay them more than they were currently receiving.

Things were going well. In 1998, her company Vantage Investments was launched. Jenny was 27 years old.

“I became a billionaire,” the 44-year-old said, adding that it took less than a year.

Difficult childhood

Taking risks was key to Jenny's early success. Her personality was inherited from her mother, who brought her and her sister from Vietnam to Hong Kong and then the United States when the millionaire was just 9 years old.

“It was a difficult time. I couldn't speak English and got into trouble at school. I was bullied. Looking back, I wonder why I wasn't as strong as I am now," Jenny said.

However, the Wall Street millionaire's confidence grew when she realized her ability in mathematics. "Power and wealth come from education. I want to succeed as quickly as possible," the woman shared.

While her friends went bowling and dancing, Jenny buried herself in textbooks. “I spent 99% of my time studying,” she says.

Set up 3 companies in the US

Jenny (center) and the team at Sqeeqee. Photo: CNN

In 2001, Jenny Q. Ta sold Vantage after the company’s net assets reached $250 million. The price of the deal was kept secret. She later earned an MBA from Fresno State University and founded her second brokerage firm, Titan Securities, in 2005.

Surprisingly, Titan caught the eye of another company that same year. “I was shocked. I hadn’t even built the value of the company yet.” The buyer said they liked Titan because it met all the criteria they wanted, she said.

Even though she remained vice president after selling the company, she was still thinking about doing something else. So after 20 years on Wall Street, in January 2015, she founded her third company, Sqeeqee, with $5 million in capital, $1.2 million of her own money and the rest from family and friends. Sqeeqee allows users to monetize and generate advertising revenue from their social media activities.

“Our platform allows you to make money doing things like updating your status, sharing photos, and hosting videos,” she said. Jenny said Sqeeqee’s subscriber base grew from 25,000 within days of launching to hundreds of thousands by the end of the year.

Though far-fetched, the woman had an idea: “It has something to do with hardware. I would love to talk to Tim Cook about it. I believe in my idea. If you believe in yourself enough, sometimes you just have to close your eyes and do it. Don’t think too much,” Ta said.

According to zing