What do you know about Tim Chen, the CEO of NerdWallet? If you’ve only heard of the company and you don’t know anything about the person that’s driving it, you might be surprised. That’s because there are actually a number of things about this individual that make him rather interesting in his own right. Below are 10 of those things. Go ahead and read through them and see if it makes you want to know even more about him by the time you’re finished.
1. He’s a philanthropist in the purest sense of the word
There is no doubt that he has a great deal of money. In fact, no one would dispute that fact. However, he isn’t just rich. He donates a great deal of his money to others in hopes of making his corner of the world better. As a matter of fact, he has openly stated on a number of different occasions that if everyone else who has a great deal of money would only do similar acts of kindness, there would no longer be things such as hunger or homelessness in the world. He’s always been quick to point out that things have to start changing and it is the individuals who have the means to do so that must begin making those changes.
2. He was once inspired by tragedy
He’s also said more than once that he was inspired by the death of George Floyd to do better. As a result, he started looking into donating money to communities that were underprivileged, especially with regard to helping black owned businesses succeed. For him, it was something positive that he could do in the wake of a truly tragic event that ended up making world news. While the overwhelming majority of the world sat and watched, he was actively doing something about it in the only way he knew how.
3. He wants to help others who are trying to find their own way
He says that he likes to help other individuals who are trying to find their own way do exactly that. Whether the individual in question wants to go to college or start a business of their own, everything costs money. He also realizes that some of the people who have the best vision and the most ambition are also the ones who are strapped down by a lack of cash flow. He tries to help individuals by helping the communities that can be impacted the most by such things.
4. He’s doing his best to inspire others
He tries his best to inspire others to do the same thing he’s doing, by donating a small portion of his overall net worth to the communities that could use it the most. He has spoken of this countless numbers of times, trying to encourage other people who have a great deal of money to invest that money back into the communities that are struggling to survive. He has been adamant that until more individuals start doing this, problems such as crime, a lack of housing and a lack of solid employment will continue to occur. He says that it’s up to us as a society to fix these issues and it is well within the means of society as a whole to do so.
5. He’s very aware of the fact that communities must help one another
For him, it’s about caring more about people than money or material possessions. That doesn’t mean that he’s going out and spending every single time that he makes on charitable contributions, but it does mean that he’s trying to do what he can to allow society to become what he believes it has always been meant to become, a place where everyone does their part and those who can help those who need a little extra assistance in order to get them to a point where they too can be happy, self-sufficient and more fulfilled.
6. He used to work in hedge funds
There was a time when he worked as a hedge fund analyst, mostly in the field of credit card financing. He’s always had a penchant for business but this wasn’t the place he wanted to be. As a result, he eventually took his knowledge of business operations and started his own company.
7. He doesn’t care about race or nationality
He’s always been quick to point out the fact that he doesn’t care about distinguishing people based on things like race or nationality. As a matter of fact, he has a hard time understanding why people don’t tend to see others as fellow human beings. For him, it’s all about learning from differences and growing as both an individual and a community. He’s doing his part to help others see this as well.
8. He loves the freedom of having his own company
He admits that he’s never really liked the idea of being tied to a desk for the express purpose of making someone else rich. That’s one of the main reasons he decided to start his own company. He enjoys the challenges and the freedom that come with it.
9. He knows how to make a company successful
Few people would doubt that he knows how to run a company. It’s something he demonstrated quite clearly when he worked as a hedge fund analyst and he continues to demonstrate that fact as the CEO of NerdWallet. It’s also worth noting that he isn’t just the company’s CEO, but also its founder.
10. He can write well, too
He also knows how to write well enough to do so for a number of different financial publications. Of course, he also writes a number of articles for NerdWallet itself. When it’s all said and done, he tends to keep himself quite busy writing a number of pieces each and every week.
