The Download: Phoebe Gates on Building Phia, AI, And The Future Of Shopping

Phoebe Gates is bringing Silicon Valley smarts to your shopping cart. As co-founder of Phia, the AI-powered app shaking up how we browse, buy, and budget, she’s determined to fix fashion’s broken system.

“The people who are closest to the problem are best positioned to solve it,” Phoebe tells The Modems. “Sophia, my co-founder, and I both love fashion – but Phia was born from a shared frustration with the way we shopped: too much fast fashion, and too many open tabs required to sift through secondhand options.”

Power pairing in progress – Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni are redefining shopping with Silicon Valley precision and New York polish.

The duo first dreamt up Phia while studying at Stanford, channeling their social entrepreneurship training into something tangible. “Through this program, we secured early grant funding to build our initial MVP,” Gates explains. It wasn’t all seamless though – finding their users and pivoting from desktop to mobile was “huge,” but essential to unlocking Phia’s full potential.

When the app launched publicly in April 2025, it skyrocketed to #21 on the App Store and hit over 300,000 downloads within weeks. “That traction confirmed strong product-market fit and validated our approach,” explains Phoebe. Since then, she’s been laser-focused on listening to users and refining the tech behind Phia’s sleek interface.

Her secret weapons? “Not a gadget – but ChatGPT.” Between Slack, Notion, and Calendly, Gates’ workflow is as optimised as her shopping recommendations. She’s also a fan of time-boxing her day – “so I don’t get lost in my inbox, or scrolling on my phone.”

As for her biggest lesson so far? “Being a founder is essentially a lesson in rejection,” she admits. “True founders don’t break from rejection – they learn how to stack it into valuable insights.”

With fashion at its core and community at its heart, Phia isn’t just another shopping app – it’s the start of a retail revolution.

From her AI-powered philosophy to the tech tips that keep her grounded, scroll on to see how Phoebe Gates is reprogramming the future of fashion – one download at a time…

The Download With Phoebe Gates:

Sophia and I started Phia because…

I always say: the people who are closest to the problem are best positioned to solve it. Sophia, my co-founder and I both love fashion – but Phia was born from a shared frustration we had with the way we shopped, which felt broken: too much fast fashion, and too many open tabs required to sift through less expensive and more sustainable, secondhand options.  Overall there has been a lack of innovation and this industry is ripe for change – where better than to start with a tool that helps consumers save both time and money.

The founder fit: Phoebe Gates’ classic lbd mirrors the luxe design ethos of Phia.

The first steps we took to launch Phia… 

The idea for Phia was developed while Sophia and I were students at Stanford, and thinking about what we could build together that would make a difference in our lives – and for others. We joined the university’s Social Entrepreneurship program, which helped us develop confidence, and really hone in on a foundational approach to launching a business. Through this program, we also secured early grant funding to build our initial MVP. 

The biggest challenges we faced were… 

We’re still building and optimising every day – but early on, identifying where our target users were – and then pivoting from a desktop to a mobile version to reach them was huge, and ultimately led us to launch Phia as the product it is.

Meet your new digital shopping assistant – Phia tracks real-time fashion prices so you don’t have to. Credit: Phia.

A major turning point for Phia was…

Launching publicly in April 2025 was the major inflection point. Within 48 hours, Phia reached #21 in the App Store and passed 300,000 downloads within two months. That traction confirmed strong product-market fit and validated our approach – we’ve tripled down on learning from and listening to our consumers, and developing features within our product interface that will forever continue to enhance their experience, and the value we are bringing to the retail landscape. (Get ready for the next release and ping me for early access.)

Our biggest setback when building Phia was… 

Before Phia, we experimented with more than several startup concepts that didn’t work – not that they were terrible ideas (mostly), but we were absolutely not the people to bring them to life. Going back to the beginning: those closest to the problem are likely best positioned to solve it, and we needed to embrace that to land on the right opportunity. Don’t build for novelty and the sake of building – build from a place of genuine need and your proximity to the consumer.

Boardroom-ready meets start-up cool – Phoebe Gates channels quiet confidence in tailoring that means business.

We stay motivated by…

The #1 motivation comes from seeing how our community members engage with Phia and that it truly is adapting the way we shop. Being able to wake up, and improve on something I love for others everyday is an incredible driving force. 

The advice I’d give to aspiring entrepreneurs is…

Being a founder is essentially a lesson in rejection. It’s rejection every time a consumer doesn’t like a new feature. It’s rejection when a new hire doesn’t work out or an investor doesn’t get the vision. True founders don’t break from rejection they learn how to stack into valuable insights you can use to improve the company.

The gadget I can’t live without is… 

The platforms I use daily are…

A tech tip that has significantly improved my workflow is…

For me, I time box my day every morning, and block out things on my calendar by the hour: time specifically dedicated to meetings, emails (things that are urgent, things that can get pushed), product testing, etc. – so I don’t get lost in my inbox, or scrolling on my phone. I’ll circle back at the end of the day and look at what’s left, clear it out, and start over again. 

Minimalist, modern, and on-mission.

I keep up with the latest tech trends by…

Completely voracious consumption of content – news feeds, newsletters, social – I look at everything and sort of filter at a glance to mentally test if something’s worth bring into the mix for what we’re working on.

The emerging technology I’m particularly excited about is…

I’m a big proponent of leveraging AI for efficacy to save time, without lessening impact: emails, texts, workflows – anything that allows me to get back time, and shift focus to bigger tasks is huge. 

My favourite books and podcasts are…

Huge respect for Armchair Expert, Foundr, The Skinny Confidential and Diary of a CEO pods – I love how they share stories so vividly, but through totally different lenses. Books – The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel.

From splurge to steal – Phia’s AI hunts down the best prices for your designer favourites. Credit: Phia.

My fashion tech I’m currently loving is…