In a small New York office filled with 20-something energy, Phoebe Gates, the youngest daughter of Bill and Melinda Gates, has launched Phia — a fashion price-comparison tool aimed at young online shoppers. Co-founded with her Stanford roommate, climate activist Sophia Kianni, Phia seeks to be the "Booking.com of fashion," offering users instant price comparisons across thousands of e-commerce sites for new and secondhand items, the New York Times reported.
Balancing privilege and ambition
Phoebe Gates, 22, acknowledges the advantage her family name provides but is determined to prove herself on her own merit. "If the business is successful, people will say, ‘It’s because of her family,’ and a huge portion of that is true," she said. "But I also feel a huge amount of internalized pressure." Despite her famous last name, Gates and Kianni raised funds independently, starting with seed capital from Soma Capital and a Stanford social entrepreneurship grant before attracting venture backing and angel investors.
Phia’s fashion-first focus
Born from their own struggles finding affordable fashion while at Stanford, Phia aggregates listings from about 40,000 sites — including resale marketplaces like the RealReal and Vestiaire — and highlights price histories to help users determine if a product is a good deal. Revenue will come from affiliate links. The platform’s unique price graph shows shoppers whether an item is fairly priced and predicts resale value, a feature designed to appeal to financially savvy Gen Z consumers.
Personal passion meets professional ambition
Gates, an avid secondhand shopper and fashion enthusiast, credits her love for the industry as a driving force. Most of her wardrobe comes from resale sites, and she carefully curates outfits each week. "We are the girls who are scouring shopping sites for deals," she said. "And there are thousands of others like us."
Growing a team and a brand
Phia now employs a small team, including engineers and designers, with all employees owning equity. The founders also produce a podcast, The Burnouts With Phoebe and Sophia, chronicling their journey as young female entrepreneurs. Although Bill Gates offered advice, he did not finance Phia directly, emphasising the importance of building independence.
A new kind of start-up story
As the platform launched in April, Gates and Kianni are betting that a combination of lived experience, savvy digital marketing, and a growing consumer appetite for smarter shopping will carve Phia a niche in the crowded e-commerce landscape — and prove that even a Gates name must hustle to succeed.
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