Phoebe Gates is the co-founder of Phia, an AI-powered fashion discovery app designed to make online shopping smarter, more transparent, and more sustainable. Launched in April 2025 alongside co-founder Sophia Kianni, Phia has quickly become one of the fastest-growing fashion-tech startups, with over 600,000 users and 5,000+ brand partners. In this conversation with BusinessWomen.com, Phoebe shares how Phia was born, the lessons she’s learned as a young founder, and how she’s redefining what it means to build a mission-driven company at the intersection of technology, style, and impact.
Inside Phia with Phoebe Gates
Image Credit: Zhamak Fullad
1. For anyone new to Phia, how would you describe what it does and what makes it stand out from other fashion-tech platforms?
Phia is a free AI shopping assistant that answers a simple, valuable question: “Should I buy this?” It shows users the best price and every available option in one click. Our proprietary technology instantly scans over 40,000 websites and works with more than 5,000 brand partners, indexing over 300 million secondhand items. It’s a one-stop shop in the palm of your hand.
What sets us apart is the deep personalization and transparency we bring to the shopping experience. If you’re buying new, Phia shows you whether you’re getting the best price, the resale value, and similar alternatives. If you’re shopping secondhand, we surface every available option and where to get the best deal.
Phia syncs seamlessly across devices, offering one-click favorites lists, curated brand partners, trending product edits, and saved search history – so you never miss a deal.
Ultimately, Phia meets consumers where they are and empowers them to make smarter, more intentional decisions that reflect their values and budgets – without endless scrolling, countless open tabs, or guesswork.
Ultimately, Phia meets consumers where they are and empowers them to make smarter, more intentional decisions that reflect their values and budgets.
2. Can you take us back to the moment the idea for Phia was born? What gap did you see in the fashion world that made you think, “Someone has to fix this”?
Sophia and I both love fashion, but we were frustrated with how complicated shopping had become. We didn’t have hours to spend bouncing between tabs and platforms trying to source secondhand alternatives or figure out whether we were getting the best deal.
We wanted to make the process as seamless as searching for flights – data-driven, transparent, and easy to navigate. That was the starting point. From there, we realized the problem wasn’t just ours – it was universal. And we were the right people to solve it, because we’re the shoppers we’re building for.
We leaned into the biggest source of friction: price. By empowering shoppers with clear price data – similar to Google Flights – we unlocked a product experience that instantly shows whether you’re getting the best deal, or if there are cheaper or secondhand alternatives.
3. You co-founded Phia with Sophia Kianni. How did that partnership come together, and what strengths do you each bring to the table?
We met while studying at Stanford and connected immediately over our shared interest in social impact and expanding access for people via technology. As roommates, we got to know each other really well – and with that, decided that there was nobody each of us would rather be in business with. The foundation was strong – and being able to revert to that over and over is a really powerful pillar: liking who you’re going to the mat with is a good thing! We both bring hustle and passion, and learn from each other and our team as we build.
4. What were the first steps that took Phia from an idea to something real, and what did that process teach you about starting from scratch?
The first big step was failure – and realizing that you grow through failure if you’re willing to take the knock and let it make you better.
“The first big step was failure.”
We had a slew of early ideas (our infamous Bluetooth tampon being one of them) and were actually rejected from the first entrepreneurship program we applied to at Stanford.
That rejection led us to Stanford’s Social Entrepreneurship program, where we had an incredible professor who helped us refine our thinking. Through that process, we identified three foundational things: first, the problem we wanted to solve; second, that it could be a viable, money-making concept; and third, that we were the right people to build it. Those lessons became the backbone of our first venture.
5. Sustainability and transparency are big words in fashion. How do you make those values feel concrete inside the app and brand?
Our goal is to make it easy for people to shop smarter, and in accordance with their values and budgets. By surfacing price data with both resale insights and products in one simple flow, we bring secondhand, more sustainable options into the traditional consumer experience – but as a natural extension of it, rather than an exception.
6. You grew up surrounded by innovation and philanthropy. How has that background shaped the kind of leader and founder you want to be?
I’ve always been inspired by people who use innovation and resources to solve real problems we’re all impacted by. Growing up around that definitely shaped how I think about purpose in business. For me, it’s not just about building a successful company, but about creating something that drives access and impact. I want to lead with empathy, stay curious, and make sure our work at Phia, and also with The Burnouts podcast (where we open-source our learnings, and other unfiltered founder insights) has a positive ripple effect across industries and for young women, especially.
7. Co-founding a company as a young woman in tech can come with its own pressures. What has helped you find confidence in your own voice?
Early on, I realized that confidence doesn’t come from knowing everything – it comes from inspired action, which comes down to trusting your instincts and doing the work.
Early on, I realized that confidence doesn’t come from knowing everything – it comes from inspired action, which comes down to trusting your instincts and doing the work.
I also try to surround myself with people who push me to grow but also remind me that my perspective has value, and I am the one who needs to go out – do, learn, fail, get back up and do better.
When in doubt, I think about Sara Blakely’s wisdom: what you don’t know can be your greatest superpower when starting out – if you let it, and listen!
8. What kind of culture are you building inside Phia and what are your non-negotiables for how the team works together?
We’re building a culture that’s collaborative, mission-driven, and consumer-obsessed. We learn so much from our actual users, and the Phia community is our North Star.
Everyone at Phia has a voice, and we make space for ideas from every level. The non-negotiable is a willingness to stay in the work as we grow rapidly: build fast, ship faster.
9. Many women in our community dream of building something meaningful but hesitate to start. What would you tell someone who’s standing at that point of “idea meets fear”?
Start small. The first version of anything doesn’t have to be perfect – it just has to exist. It’s so easy to get stuck overthinking every detail, but momentum builds confidence. You don’t need to have all the answers to begin. Just take one step, learn, and let the process teach you – once you feel like you have something YOU believe in, get it in front of others who would be your target user/audience (and close friends and family don’t really count – you need the hard truths to ensure you’re on track with something that is scalable, and will have real adopters!).
10. What’s been the most rewarding moment on this journey so far, that feeling of “Yes, this is why I’m doing it”?
Hearing from users who say Phia has changed how they shop, and in equal measure, from brands and platforms (like TRR and Vestiaire) saying they’re reaching new audiences through Phia. Whether it’s someone saving money on a favorite brand, or finding the confidence to shop secondhand for the first time, those moments remind me why we built this. It’s about giving people power and choice in a space that hasn’t always been transparent, and historically has seen very little innovation over the years.
11. And finally, what’s next for Phia and for you personally as you continue shaping your own path?
We’re focused on expanding the features our community truly wants in order to achieve deeper personalization. We will be saving them even more time and money – while making online shopping a phenomenal discovery and style experience. We’re loading tons of updates that all stem from “Should I buy this?” – so you can make recommendations to friends, track your favorites, get notifications and more information about items you’re tracking – so much more.
Phoebe Gates is the youngest daughter of Melinda and Bill Gates. She is at the frontier of fashion tech, a podcaster and mission-driven entrepreneur redefining how we shop.
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