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“We’re having conversations now where we’re probably going to hit $5 million this year,” says Tori Dunlap. But in order to get to $10 million, it’ll require a new business model, she adds.
courtesy of Dunlap
Now a 29-year-old multi-millionaire, Tori Dunlap saved $100,000 by the time she was 25 through investing. Realizing that other women and underrepresented communities rarely learn important financial skills—specifically on topics like Roth IRAs, 401(k)s and investing in stocks—she started a platform to help them increase wealth, too.
The 2023 Under 30 Media lister founded her brand, Her First $100K, with $40 in 2016. Today, she has nearly 5.5 million followers across her social media accounts and brought in more than $4 million in revenue last year. Plus, the company is already on track to hit $5 million in 2024.
Her offerings range from informative social media videos, digital resources, long-form podcast episodes and a New York Times best-selling book. But it wasn’t always the multi-medium platform it is today. In fact, one-on-one coaching clients made up the majority of Dunlap’s business for the first few years. Still, she says, “I knew that that model wasn’t sustainable.” So in 2019 she killed those offerings entirely and expanded her business in a way she could scale.
She replaced intimate sessions with 50-to-100-person workshops. When that, too, became unsustainable, she turned those workshops into purchasable online courses.
“You always want to be asking yourself, ‘Is this the best use of my time as a founder?’” Dunlap advises.
To continue meeting new marks, she has focused on diversifying her brand—which is her biggest piece of advice for young founders today. A lot of people, especially on TikTok, are currently working through having blown up online in 2020 and now running a business on the premise of having millions of followers, she says. “But what happens if TikTok goes away tomorrow?” Dunlap asks. “If I can encourage anybody, especially who runs a digital business, you need to build on your own land.”
To achieve this, she encourages her social media followers to sign up for her email list—which now has more than 600,000 subscribers. She also launched a podcast and wrote a book, another strategic business decision: “I wrote the book for an accessibility reason,” she says. “When I do build products now, I can charge a little bit more and I can make them a more tailored white-glove experience. And if you can’t afford that, you can get my book at the library or for less than $20 anywhere books are sold.”
Dunlap is also a proponent of keeping your business as lean as possible to protect incoming dollars, she says. For instance, when hiring her early team, she tapped those young in their career, rather than industry veterans. While many founders hire the most experienced team to help their brands grow, Dunlap jokes that she “frankensteined” younger employees into what she wanted. “I couldn’t afford to pay somebody $150,000 a year in my first year or two of running the business full-time,” she says, so she trained those she could afford instead.
Talk soon,
Alex & Zoya
P.S. Have you dreamed of being named to the 30 Under 30 list? Do you know someone who would be a great fit? We are currently sourcing the next class of listers. Apply here for the 30 Under 30 2025 U.S. and Canada list. As a reminder, we’re looking for those of you 29 or younger (as of December, 31, 2024), who are innovating in your respective industries. That means everyone from AI founders, food & drink professionals, social media stars and beyond. (Our full list of 2025 categories can be found here.) Apply today!
Flagship 30 Under 30 Summit
Join us from September 22-25 in Cincinnati, Ohio for our annual Forbes 30 Under 30 Summit. We’ll bring you a roster of A-list founders, investors and performers—and of course, priceless opportunities to network with accomplished Under 30 listers and mentors. Last year’s line-up included Kendall Jenner, Bad Bunny, Halsey, Rainn Wilson and more. Snag tickets before June 1 to get an early access rate of 85% off here.
These Are The Richest Self-Made Women Under 40
Passes founder and CEO Lucy Guo, Kylie Cosmetics founder Kylie Jenner and singer-songwriter Taylor Swift.
PHOTOS, FROM LEFT: JAMEL TOPPIN FOR FORBES (2); NEILSON BARNARD/GETTY IMAGES
Forbes released its annual list of America’s Richest Self-Made Women this week, the youngest of whom is 26-year-old Kylie Jenner, owner of Kylie Cosmetics, with a net worth of $710 million. Rihanna comes in as the richest of those under 40 with a whopping $1.4 billion net worth thanks to Fenty Beauty and her two-decade-long music career. Check out the full list here to see how these 100 women built their riches.
Lister Lowdown
-Scale AI’s Alexandr Wang made Forbes’ Billionaires list in 2022 with a ten-figure net worth, but the 2021 Under 30 alum fell from the ranks as his startup’s valuation—along with other tech companies—also plummeted. After announcing a $1 billion raise for Scale AI last week, valuing the company at some $14 billion, Wang has regained the title of youngest self-made billionaire.
-Dina Radenkovic’s biotech startup Gameto closed a $33 million Series B round this week, bringing the company’s total funding to $73 million. The 2023 Under 30 Healthcare startup is focused on women’s health, creating technology to make the processes of egg freezing and IVF shorter and safer. The latest round was led by Two Sigma Ventures and RA Capital.
-Boulder Care, a startup that offers virtual treatment for opioid and alcohol use, announced a $35 million Series C last week. Founded by 2019 Under 30 Healthcare lister Stephanie Papes, Boulder aims to use the funds to expand its treatment options from three states—Oregon, Ohio and Washington—into 10 states by 2026. The round was led by Advance Venture Partners.
One Minute With Erifili Gounari
courtesy of Erifili Gounari.
We’re bringing you the scoop on a new Under 30 community member each week. Up this week: Erifili Gounari, 2023 Under 30 Media & Marketing lister and founder of The Z Link, a social media marketing agency that helps brands connect with a Gen Z audience.
The following has been slightly edited for length and clarity.
How do you start your mornings? I like having a lot of free time in the mornings before I start work, so I try not to plan any early calls or commitments. I usually take my time to make a nice breakfast and not feel rushed.
Is there something you make sure to do every day—either for work or for yourself? For a while I was doing five minute meditations first thing before I got out of bed; my longest streak was around four months of doing it every day, I loved it. Trying to start doing that again!
What was the very first step you took to build this company? The first tangible step was creating the website just to get something out there. I built the website myself as I had no team or budget (it wasn’t very good) and that process forced me to flesh out a lot of the company’s details, too.
Did you always want to be a founder? I used to think I wasn’t really fit to be a founder. I was taking online entrepreneurship courses out of curiosity during university, where I was studying Art History, and then when I got the idea for The Z Link, I realized founding something of my own intrigued me.
What’s been the biggest challenge in being a young founder? How have you overcome it? Probably getting people to take what we do seriously. I think young founders across most industries are always underestimated to an extent, but I’ve tried to deal with that by working with people and clients that consider our Gen Z team to be an advantage and want to work with us because of it. In our industry specifically, it’s more commonly accepted as an asset.
What’s the biggest misconception about Gen Z? I hear a lot of talk about how Gen Z is difficult to work with, or doesn’t want to work. From my perspective, Gen Z is simply the first generation to have the tools to express at scale that the way we work can be improved, become healthier, more fulfilling and more efficient. Asking for remote or hybrid work, or creating new opportunities where there aren’t any, isn’t a sign of not wanting to work: It’s a sign of our generation simply having more tools and resources at our disposal to pursue more fulfilling careers.
What’s your honest take on the generation? No generation is a monolith so I don’t want to generalize, but I like Gen Z’s ambition, drive and connectedness. I like how we’re learning to use the internet for good and seeing how we can improve the way we live.
What is the biggest thing you help brands understand when it comes to young consumers? To stand out through the noise, you have to be providing something actually valuable to young consumers. They love to be a part of a community, to have spaces where they belong; if a brand can facilitate that over a shared passion, for example, that’s a lot more valuable to Gen Z than simply targeting ads at them.
What’s a hobby you have outside of work? I really love reading and writing, it’s been the most consistent love in my life since I can remember. I co-host a podcast called Espresso Epilogues with a friend of mine where we talk about literature and philosophy.
Who or what is your biggest inspiration? I’m constantly inspired by friends of mine and Gen Zers around me that express themselves and their creativity in authentic and honest ways.