Before launching her $8 million startup, Phoebe Gates turned to her billionaire founder parents for advice. After all, when your dad is the cofounder of Microsoft, he might know a thing or two about building a business.
The 23-year-old daughter of Bill and Melinda French Gates recalled the guidance they shared wasn’t about money. Instead, the thing that could make or break a product’s success, they advised, is your team.
As she worked alongside her peers, that advice quickly proved true. Gates realized the importance of surrounding herself with like-minded people who shared her vision for Phia, the new fashion-tech startup she launched with her Stanford roommate Sophia Kianni.
Since its debut in April 2025, the AI-powered shopping assistant has attracted over 500,000 users and partnered with more than 5,000 brands.
“We are the women who use this product day in and day out. That’s why we wanted to bring people onto our cap table who truly understand how shopping needs to adapt and where it’s headed,” she said.
It’s no doubt when building out the team of her app and mobile browser extension that its prominent backers are what unlocked the door to such success.
“It was foundational for us not only to have women on our cap table but especially people who deeply understood the problem,” she added.
The reason? Growth. If this is a “real business,” she said, then others need to be willing to back it. And more importantly, her daughter should learn how to navigate the sting of rejection if it doesn’t get that funding. “That’s what I told her,” French Gates added. “She’s growing from this.”
