So you wanna be a boss. Netflix and chill will yourself to get off the couch already. How to Be a Boss (According to Your Favorite Shows) is your excuse to binge all the TV you want. It’s career inspiration, right? As for me, chain-watching teen dramas now qualifies as research to bring you this informative series. We all win.
Veronica Lodge. Charismatic, cunning, filthy rich. The character has all the makings of a badass business tycoon, just like her daddy. But the Veronica of my time—she of the ’80s newsprint comics devoured in the back of my family station wagon—frankly squandered her privilege. Rather, she flaunted her money, wrapped poor Archiekins around her bejeweled finger, and wasted some serious boss potential.
Of course, the Veronica of 2019 could never be written this way. And thankfully, Riverdale’s Ronnie, despite her questionable methods, is leveraging her position for good. At the climax of season 2 (spoiler alert!), Veronica uses ill-begotten ransom money to buy a divey Southside hangout as a bargaining chip to take back Pop’s Choklit Shop from her crime lord father. Let’s just say the sap doesn’t flow far from the Blossom Maple Farms tree.
In season 3, Ronnie reinvents the fledgling but much beloved Pop’s to save the business. With the help of her friends—and no thanks to her estranged father’s Jingle Jangle scheme—she opens a virgin-cocktail-serving speakeasy in the diner’s basement.
In the world of Veronica Lodge, you really can have it all—a full-time high school career and a side gig with plenty of time left over for her totally normal teen hobbies: catching murderers and orchestrating prison breaks. How does she do it?
Here are 12 rules to live and work by, according to teen mogul Veronica Lodge—and her precocious Riverdale friends:
1. Keep your enemies and business rivals close. They are, after all, your parents.Read more
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Veronica Lodge FAQ
Who plays Veronica Lodge on Riverdale?
Camila Mendes plays Veronica Lodge on The CW's Riverdale. The role was a breakthrough for the actress, since playing the iconic Veronica Lodge marked her first professional acting job in Hollywood. Mendes also brought a Latina identity to the character, a shift from the original comic book version created decades earlier.
Where did the name Veronica Lodge come from?
The surname Lodge came from a real family that Archie Comics artist Bob Montana knew personally. Montana had once painted a mural for the real-life Lodge family, and he combined that surname with actress Veronica Lake's first name to create the character. The pairing gave the wealthy socialite an old-money name with a glamorous, movie-star first name.
What businesses does Veronica Lodge own in Riverdale?
Veronica Lodge builds a business portfolio that extends well past the diner she famously reinvents, eventually owning a casino, a jewelry boutique called La Petite Bijoutière, and an accessories line named Pearls and Posh. She later works as a businesswoman on Wall Street before returning to Riverdale to teach economics at her old high school. Her ventures span nightlife, retail, and finance rather than just one industry.
Did Veronica Lodge start out as a mean girl?
Yes, Veronica Lodge is introduced as a self-admitted mean girl in New York before her family's scandal forces a reset. She and her mother lose their fortune and face public gossip after her father's arrest for fraud and embezzlement, and the backlash pushes Veronica to confront how spoiled and icy she had become. That fallout, not any natural instinct, is what sends her toward reinvention in Riverdale.
What entrepreneurial lessons does Veronica Lodge's story offer?
Veronica Lodge's arc shows that a damaged reputation and lost capital don't have to end an ambitious career. Rebuilding trust after a public scandal, turning family conflict into leverage, and repurposing an existing local business rather than starting from scratch are the throughlines of her rise. Her story also underscores that loyal collaborators and a willingness to operate outside a comfort zone often matter more than starting wealth.
