Phoebe Gates, 22, and Her Friend Sophia Kianni Reimagine Shopping with Digital Fashion Startup

Mar. 15, 2025

Sophia Kianni and Phoebe Gates announce Phia, a digital fashion platform.Photo:Emma McIntyre/Getty

Emma McIntyre/Getty

Phoebe Gatesis following in her dadBill Gates' entrepreneurial footsteps with the exciting news of her online fashion platform,Phia.

“Sophia and I are first-time founders, and learning as we go. With Phia’s beta, we’re building with our customers, so we can deliver a product that ultimately makes them the smartest shoppers in the room,” Phoebe tells PEOPLE exclusively of the new endeavor, which is currently in testing stages.

Sophia Kianni and Phoebe Gates.John Lamparski/Getty

John Lamparski/Getty

Phia is a free Chrome extension disrupting the landscape of digital shopping and secondhand retail. The startup, which is seemingly geared to Gen Z shoppers who continue to look for sustainability and authenticity with the brands they shop, aims to inform shoppers on the future value of the products they buy online before they even hit “purchase” and assist customers with finding great deals on resale sites like eBay, Poshmark and Depop if they’re looking to go secondhand.

“Just a few months ago, this was a concept we were sketching out. Now, our beta is live, and I’m so excited to share it with you,” Phoebe wrote in aLinkedIn poston Nov. 21.

The platform will officially launch in 2025, but Phoebe shared on Substack that she and Sophia plan to incorporate users as much as possible while they fine-tune the details.

“If we want to create a product that makes you the smartest shopper in the room, we need you quite literally and figuratively IN said room from the start. Together, we’re gonna build something that changes the way we shop forever,” Phoebe wrote on Nov. 18.

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She also sharedhow she’s been feelingin this chapter of her career, which to her is a whole new world. According to herLinkedIn page, Phoebe interned atBritish Voguefor two months in 2022 before starting Phia in 2023.

“Starting a business isn’t for the faint of heart, and you don’t know what you don’t know…until you know. It’s endlessly humbling, and a continuous process of learning—learning to manage people, myself, and most importantly, my own expectations. Every day feels like a new lesson in growth and knowing when to admit, ‘I don’t have all the answers,’while asking myself: ‘Who can I learn from?’“she wrote.

Get more details on Phia onjoinphia.com

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source: people.com