Nancy Hua moved to the U.S. from China in 1989. She excelled in high school, got a full ride to MIT, went into finance, and became a star trader. But her mother's illness led her to launch the tech company Apptimize--and shifted her thinking about what's really important in work and life. --As told to Zachary Lipez
I was born in China. My dad left for America when I was 1, and my mom left when I was 2. I lived with other people--family, and my dad's professors--until I was 4.
I have two birthdays. When I left China, my parents got me a passport and my mom changed my birth month to August, because for the Chinese the number eight is lucky--she thought it would be more fortunate. (She changed her own birthday to August 8, 1958. That's a lot of eights.)
My dad went to graduate school at the University of Pittsburgh and became a science professor. My mom was a waitress. She never went to college. But she ended up managing that restaurant and starting a translation business.
